October 5, 2003

READERS ON RECALL

Campaign commercials are one of the constants of any election, and in California's shortened gubernatorial recall, the major candidates have been on the airwaves for weeks. The News-Press asked its panel of voters tracking the recall: Do you watch campaign commercials, and do you believe the messages you see? Do you read campaign literature you receive in the mail?

LINDA BISHOP, Republican: I don't watch much TV. I've seen the Arnold ad where he's sitting around talking with people. He comes off quite good in ads. I'm not sure about the content. It speaks to his acting. I haven't seen any other ads. It struck me that I haven't. Maybe it's because of the time constraints.

JIM CARUCCI, Democrat: I do watch them. I think they're indicative of what our culture is saying or doing or feeling at the time. They're important tools for many of us. It's the only way we understand what people think. I'm not assuming they're always correct and factual. I never read brochures.

PETER FYFE, Libertarian: Unfortunately, I watch them. I've seen Davis, Huffington and Schwarzenegger. It's commercial political sound bites at their worst. They take sound bites and put nice music behind it. They're very rarely funny after the first two times.

VALERIE GIRARD, Democrat: By and large, I haven't seen them. I've seen Arnold's a couple times. I tune them out. Anyone can write a nice commercial. It doesn't affect me. There are no real solutions being presented.

CARL HOPKINS, Republican: We don't watch a ton of TV. I haven't seen very many. If I'm watching something and a political commercial comes on, I'd probably watch it just once. I've never seen one that was worth a plug nickel. It's either an attack one, which I despise, or it's, "Here I am, look at me standing at the ocean, I believe in apple pie and mother."

Sometimes you get more out of print ads. TV advertising has almost zero impact on me.

VADIM HSU, Democrat: I don't watch too many. If I've seen any, it's been Arnold. He's saturated the airwaves more than anyone. It's a waste. It's a waste of resources or money. If that could be bottled up and put back into the nonprofit world or health care or education, the millions of dollars on this election alone could build 20 schools and 100 health clinics.

NADIA KELADA, Democrat: They are designed by the handlers. One thing that might make a difference in judging a person is if it seems to be something they might have said if they didn't have a handler and said what is programmed and memorized. I can't isolate from what they are outside the commercial. Sometimes I say, "This is just drivel, and shame on you."

Sometimes I say, "That's what you've been trying to say less aptly on your own."

DONNIE NAIR, Democrat: I've been disappointed in them. I expect the last week to be a real slug . . . I've got to give it to McClintock, I don't agree with him, but it's really and truly what he thinks. With Arnold, he's chasing his tail, trying to figure out what he's supposed to say. I would like to vote for Bustamante just because I'm against this idea of the recall, but he hasn't been very persuasive. I'd like to hear more from the marginal candidates.

AL NODARSE, nonpartisan: I hit the mute button. They're so negative. I don't pay attention to them. They cater to the lowest common denominator of intelligence, people who actually make decisions based on commercials. I'm the same way about campaign literature: They're so slanted and self-serving.

KARI NODARSE, nonpartisan: I've only seen Arnold's. I don't pay attention to them. They're sound bites of what they believe in. The whole purpose is to benefit the person running for office. I listen to it and don't pay attention to it.

BILL OWENS, Democrat: I don't have a television, so I don't have to watch those. I haven't seen any literature.

— NORA K. WALLACE

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