Published: October 04, 2008 01:00 am         

Beware of ‘news’ late in the game

October is here. It feels like fall, the leaves are changing colors and — this year — a presidential campaign is in full swing.

Forget about the youthful mischief-makers who will be out in force later this month. We say beware of late-breaking campaign news.

The Goshen News has long urged voter participation and, just as important, education. We encourage voters to be knowledgeable about both the candidates and the issues they may contend with in office.

Eleventh-hour “gotchas” are best viewed with a skeptic’s eye, though.

Events independent of the campaigns — financial turmoil, terrorism, etc. — will still impact those efforts. That’s fair. Voters are right to assess how cool a candidate may be in a crisis.

They should also assess damaging information about an office-seeker’s professional and/or personal conduct. Use this formula: The closer to Election Day, the more reason to distrust “revelations.”

They may be true. They may not be true. But dropped late in the game, bombshells leave little time for candidates to defend themselves. That’s the intent, of course. It’s also shoddy politics.

The News has high hopes for the remaining 2008 presidential campaign. We hope the information springing forth from the Obama and McCain camps is both factual and issue-oriented. We’ll be disappointed if it isn’t. So should you.