Daily Archives: February 8, 2007

I am a Democrat by blood and heart. Sure, there are many times where Democrats and Republicans disagree. However, when both sides of the aisle come together on an issue that we think will better Hawaii, that is an awesome feeling. When I entered elected politics in 2002 as a young 27 year-old state representative, I never thought I would be making such a statement. Yes, it is the Republican Party's job to knock me and other Democrats out of office and vice versa. But there are certain colleagues on both sides of the aisle that mutually respect each other and I believe this is a good thing.

In my four years in politics, I had some good stories in the media on a number of issues relating to business, improvements to schools, technology and science, and preventing sex assault in Hawaii. However, the media can be nice to you one day, and bite you the next. Nonetheless, I always act politely to them. You need to have thick skin in this job.

The media is very interesting in how they pick what issues to highlight. They seem to always look for anything negative to make a story that sells. Sometimes, they also mislead the public. At times, they report as if they know you, but they don't. Finally, the media sensationalizes the story by exaggerating and taking your words out of context.

Now I fully understand why politicians and entertainment stars say they have a love/hate relationship with the media. They communicate with the public through the media, and the media can decide to tell their story accurately, spin it in a different light, or totally attack them. The media has a lot of power because the way they tell your story will determine how the public perceives you. It doesn't matter if they made a mistake, because once they tell the world, unfortunately, many people will take their reporting as fact.