If someone turned his attention to the presidential election this week and tried to figure out why each candidate thinks they are the best choice for president it would probably take him a while to figure it all out.  

  

From the focus of the news media the issues would seem to be Giuliani's wife, Judith, or perhaps one of his children; Romney's wife, Ann, or maybe one of their sons; Barack Obama's wife, Michelle, or perhaps his six year old daughter; or maybe even John Edward's wife, Elizabeth.

 

In my opinion, the most important thing to consider when thinking about our next president is hardly discussed at all - which is the safety of our country in the face of the terrorist threat. As a friend of mine put it, "I would put out feelers to see who the terrorists most want as president and I'll vote for the other candidate."

 

No one can say the media has ignored the election of 2008, it is certainly being covered. But the coverage is almost nothing more than the potential candidates apologizing for misunderstandings and things misspoken or begging the public to give their family a break.

 

Why doesn't the media focus on the issues that really mean something to the American people? Where are the tough questions to the person who may be our next president?

 

Do we really care if one candidate's sons served in the armed forces - millions of other all-American boys haven't! Should it make the news if another one's six year old daughter didn't understand the meaning behind commercials put on You-Tube about her father - a six year old shouldn't be watching that stuff! Will our next president fail as president because his teenage son didn't get along with him? Is that some sort of unspoken statement that the rest of us have no problems communicating with our teens?  

 

Our focus in the upcoming election should not be on any one candidate's personal life or family issues. It should be on the safety of the country in the face of the threat of world wide terrorism, on the education of our children, the poverty level and level of health care available, the economy, border security and relations with our neighboring countries, crime and other basics that have an effect on our future.

 

Given all the information available to us in this day and age, when asked the question, "Who are you voting for?" every American should be able to give an educated answer based on his knowledge of the candidates and their political records - and nothing else.

 

If all the election information the media insists on giving us is going to be about things that really don't matter then the media is not living up to their responsibility in this great democracy. If we don't bring the focus of our elections back to where it should be, the terrorists might cheer when our next president is chosen.