Journalists' role in US presidential polls

As recorder of events, every journalist covering the presidential marathon to the White House has to bear in mind that he/she has a major role to play: to ferret out the truth in a non-partisan way using his/her potent weapon --- the pen.

It’s a fact that journalists have the right to information. But they should be aware at this point in time that by exercising this special privilege they are also facing two possible choices: To destroy or to protect what has been built by traditional politicians.

Such is the case with writing. Journalists can create new scenarios, tear down what exists, or keep the things the way they are. It’s all up to them.

We keep hearing from seasoned journalists that corruption exists during elections, especially in the third world countries. Allegations of cheating also crop up and no one knows who really won. One case in point is the 1985 snap presidential elections in the Philippines, where the late president Ferdinand Marcos was accused to have cheated his closest rival, Corazon Aquino, that led to a peaceful people power revolt in February 1986. The revolt finally ended the 20-year dictatorial regime.

More often than not, results of the elections do not depend on the platforms of candidates or their qualifications, but rather on how much money, gifts or favors the candidates give the voters. And sometimes, candidates not qualified to run won for being popular and moneyed.

According to an Allvoices contributor from India, American politics is a multi-million dollar enterprise. We could not argue with him. While a report in huffingtonpost.com indicates that the 2012 US election campaign would cost nearly $7-billion with the White House as the prize at stake, unemployment is still high, poverty is still pervasive. To win the votes of the electorate, candidates usually choose these two topics as favorite subjects in their campaign speeches.

The U.S. presidential campaign is nearing to a close. While most of the Americans remain undecided as to whom they would cast their votes for president on Nov. 6, more questions are cropping up: Should I vote or not? Whom should I vote for? Should I go for President Barack Obama or Mitt Romney?

These are only some of the many questions that journalists should answer by painting a vivid picture of what these candidates have done in the past. As recorder of political and social events, they should also tell the people to cast their votes to make the U.S. government a better one.

If you like to write about U.S. politics and Campaign 2012, enter "The American Pundit" competition. Allvoices is awarding four $250 prizes each month between now and November. These monthly winners earn eligibility for the $5,000 grand prize, to be awarded after the November election.