Turn to the Internet

Finally we can do away with politics for awhile and return to the norm: toothpaste and car commercials. Political commercials have dominated television and radio for weeks, even months before the election, providing viewers with nothing but crazed candidates screaming about their opponent's ineptness.

In future elections, voters need to disregard the mudslinging advertisements and access the Internet in order to tap into more meaningful information.

According to a survey of 270 local, state and federal candidates conducted by Congressional Quarterly Inc., which has been researching and reporting on politics for more than 50 years, 63 percent of campaigns have websites.

This new medium has futurists wondering if candidates with websites are at a distinct advantage over those without. Both Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill successfully utilized radio, and John F. Kennedy knew the advantages of accessing television - all new media in their time.

Websites can offer something a 30-second television commercial cannot even come close to doing: They allow candidates to publish everything from biographies to policy statements to position papers on issues.

With this new medium, the public can make educated decisions on election issues without subjecting themselves to the trivial information provided by commercials, and without getting soiled by the mudslinging.