Reply #7: guardian article, very good

[cal04]

In the US, the dominance of television and the relaxation of impartiality rules by the Reagan administration in the 1980s had diminished the level of political knowledge and debate, said Mr Gore. He pointed to figures showing that at the time of the Iraq war, 77% of Americans thought Saddam Hussein was responsible for the attack on the Twin Towers.

"Saddam Hussein was not responsible for that attack, so how could that be? Why was the chamber silent? Where were the representatives?" he asked. "They were at cocktail parties, raising money. Why? The only thing that matters is that you have enough money to put 30-second TV commercials on the air to persuade voters to elect you."

He said he hoped that projects such as his own Current TV, which launched last year, could "use the internet to give individuals access to television" and allow them to "rejoin the debate". "We have to find a way for that to happen," he said.

But Mr Gore, who narrowly lost the presidency to George Bush in 2000, cautioned that the shift would take longer than some had predicted. He said senior US candidates still spent up to 80% of their budget on television commercials because of the "quasi-hypnotic" effect of the medium.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1859679,00.html