Yes, midterm elections are far gone, but that just means that the presidential elections are right around the corner.

The thing is this: have political campaigns gone too far?

Campaigns have been using and refining targeting, looking at past voting histories, religious affiliation, demographics, magazine subscriptions, and buying habits to decide when and where to hold events.

Politicians can use the data they find to manipulate their campaigns to convince more of the population to vote for them.

Even if the way they manipulate words actually changes the way their viewpoint comes across. It’s not uncommon for politicians to tell white lies to achieve what they want, which in turn is to get voted into office. Manipulation at this point is the key to winning the election.

In one of his first ads of the general election, Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, attacked his opponent, Rep. Jim Renacci, for being a lobbyist.

Brown went too far by saying Renacci lobbied “even while in Congress.” Renacci was a registered lobbyist before his election to the House in 2010, and his name remained on the registration rolls several months into his first term. But there is no evidence that he actually lobbied anyone during that time.

Cheap shot overstatements like these fuel cynicism about public service.

And don’t get me started on Don Blankenship.

The rookie politician of age 68 started his campaigns with a blank expression looking at the camera, suiting his name perfectly, then went on a ramble which addressed different issues.

How bad was he? The president himself urged people NOT to vote for him, and personally I agreed.

For starters, he spent time in prison because of his involvement in a he involved in a mine explosion. He also stated many racially insensitive comments during his political campaign.

The ad in question also composed of awful zooms and distasteful music and concluded with him holding two children saying he will win the senate, “for the sake of the kids.”

I’m telling you now that this is only getting worse.

Most people in this school will be able to vote during the next presidential election. I will probably look at these ads for a source of entertainment, but unfortunately some people do tend to consider these ads as fact.

Just make sure you don’t believe everything that politicians say during their campaigns and do some research of your own.