As the primary season for the 2008 presidential election starts to heat up, it is becoming increasingly shocking how vapid and entirely useless most of the press coverage on the candidates has been so far. While the Democratic-led Congress reaches historic lows in public opinion polls due to their unwillingness to force a change of course in Iraq or to assert effective accountability on the administration over, well, anything, our 24-hour news cycle continues to discuss the important questions relating to Sen. Barack Obama's flag pin, John Edward's haircuts and Hillary Clinton's cleavage.

Now I know such controversies are essential to discuss during a time of war as well as amid the disintegration of the rule of law at home, but at the least you would think that they would be balanced by equally poignant queries into the secret lives and public actions of the Republican candidates as well. Now, I am by no means a major fan of the Democratic candidates, but even just a cursory glimpse past what the mainstream media tells the public about the top Republican choices shows that they more closely resemble a carnival freak show than serious prospects to lead the American Empire through this time of crisis. The underreported indiscretions of the leaders of the pack namely, Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson are especially indicative of the ludicrous standards that are currently being employed by our media to judge what qualities are important to have in a president.

Mr. Giuliani's long history of dressing in drag seems like the perfect punch line for our sex-obsessed media to question his party's predication to preventing gays from marrying or serving in the military or to at least try to balance out all the innuendo-filled haircut jabs at Mr. Edwards. However, that example of the hypocrisy of our country's unbalanced reporting pales in comparison to the complete dismissal of the fact that Mr. Giuliani was married to his cousin, Regina Peruggi, for 14 years. Can anyone imagine our entirely unbiased media asking Rudy about incest nearly as often as Hillary will be asked about adultery?

Of course that would never happen. The press has worked too hard to solidify Mr. Giuliani's image as the "hero of 9/11," and his sexual deviancy doesn't fit the mold they're looking for. The maintaining of the Rudy 9/11 myth is especially egregious considering the multitude of examples of his negligence reported by many 9/11 responders. Such charges include providing faulty radio equipment, misleading responders to work amidst toxic fumes, as well as hastily clearing out the rubble before the bodies of fellow firefighters and citizens were all recovered. The rancor from those in the trenches on Sept. 11 has led to him being formally condemned by the International Association of Firefighters, all while he runs for president using such gimmicks as requesting checks for $9.11 from his supporters. Shouldn't such charges be important enough for the media to formally question Mr. Giuliani's blatant exploitation of 9/11 for political as well as financial gain?

Mr. Thompson is another candidate whom our media seems to have fallen in love with, often citing his folksy demeanor and "everyman" qualities. Such depictions ignore the fact that he spent 20 years working as a lobbyist on Capitol Hill, a career that doesn't quite jive with the "outside the beltway," Reagen-esque image he is working so hard to foster. Fred's past career is highlighted by his lobbying for Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, a man who was widely criticized for supporting "necklacing," the gruesome practice of execution where gasoline-soaked tires are thrown over a person's neck and lit. Now that's what I call compassionate conservatism!

Mr. Thompson's support for such radical forms of governance isn't surprising considering his vast experience with cutthroat politics, including his recent work acting as a leader for the oh-so-noble I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby defense fund. Support of treason aside, Mr. Thompson has also been charged with acting as a mole for the Nixon administration during the fallout from Watergate when he acted as the Senate Watergate Committee minority counsel. In fact, the Boston Globe reports that "Thompson tipped off the White House that the committee knew about the taping system and would be making the information public." The article continues to describe how Mr. Thompson even admits "in his all-but-forgotten Watergate memoir, ‘At That Point in Time,' [that] he acted with “no authority” in divulging the committee’s knowledge of the tapes."

The 18-and-a-half minutes that were deleted from those tapes was, quite potentially, only possible due to Mr. Thompson's supreme act of loyalty to party over country. The information deleted was considered more important than even what lead to Mr. Nixon's impeachment, and the media should fully question and investigate the extent of Mr. Thompson's involvement in one of the biggest scandals in our country's history. However, somehow, I bet our media will rationalize focusing more on Hillary Clinton's role in her husband's blowjob-related impeachment rather than Mr. Thompson's betrayal of the rule of law.

There is still much time left for a full and honest discussion of both the big and small faults for all of the candidates, both Democrat and Republican. Sadly though, I am preparing for more surface-based criticism that will not force any of them to account for the worst of their past indiscretions, nor push any of them to be effective leaders for the massive amounts of reform that our country so desperately needs.

Harry Waisbren ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in communication arts.