hose on their agenda. The president is also said to be the agenda setter. "No other single actor can focus attention as clearly, or change the motivations of such a great number of others, as the president." (Edwards 1999, p.327) Yet others believe that it is the way in which his overall agenda is presented to the public and that is done by the media. There is still argument for both sides but leaning more towards the media. Presidential elections, campaigns, and policies have always been important in the media and to the public. The media creates a political world that is the basis of the public's knowledge and the later behavior, such as voting for the president or any public official. The themes and issues that are repeated in the media become important to viewers. Those that are highlighted become especially influential when it comes to choosing a candidate. The media affects evaluations of presidents. Presidential approval is strongly influenced by how the media portrays the candidate to the public. For example, during the Gulf War, George Bush received bad publicity based on his performance with the war even though his prior economic performance was exceptional. (Edwards 1999, p329) The values in which people used to evaluate him on were influenced by what the media had to say. Particular televised political advertising, televised candidate events. And news articles also affect the preferences and opinions of the voters. For example, Bob Dole in the 1996 election. His age arose early from the media. During the primary election, over 800 news stories dealt with Dole's age. His medical examinations were brought to attention by the media. Televised networks covered a lot about his age during his 73rd birthday. This just goes to show that the media were wrong in conveying an appropriate understanding of the issues involved. The media did not fully understand the implications behind electing a senior citizen and if they did it was not ...
