HONESTY, THE BEST POLICY.

Most people are members of the media, even if they are not part of the mainstream sector of the industry; and so long as they write for a living, they must not be biting the finger that feeds them.

Yet, the industry, which is protected by the first amendment, and therefore part of the United States Constitution, enjoys the privilege of being free and independent. As such, it must be impartial, unbiased, objective and to a great extent neutral.

However, unlike the medical profession, which has the Hippocratic Oath as its guidance, the media, as news gathering organizations are now generally called, are free and must be allowed to operate without any type of hindrance, good or bad, official or unofficial.

This freedom is equivalent to freedom of speech and therefore it must not be restricted in any way whatsoever. There must not be any kind of censorship, in the way of disseminating information as it must be practiced in a free country such as the United States, and places like the United Kingdom, France and Germany.

Yet, editorial boards, usually or mainly for political reasons, tend to deviate from a self imposed doctrine by the industry to be truthful in exercising the right that the Constitution grants its member organizations.

Now, the pollster companies form a part of the media, and they are supposed to conduct surveys and researches on issues of interest to the public. Such surveys must be done on the basis of them being honest and truthful, as they must follow the rules as set, though not mandatory, for the rest of the industry.

As most of the media conform to those rules, to the best of their ability, and to be frank and forthright in the delivery of information, pollsters are a little bit different. They can be honest; but they can also come up with any kind of artificial figures and dump them in the news for public consumption.

When that happens, it is just like dissing the same public, which the media must be honest with and respect.

So, the pollster companies and organizations must do what is expected of them to avoid friction of any kind between themselves and the reading and viewing public. They must not be influenced by any political dogma or entity.

However, it will not be too difficult to say that such a thing is going on in the United States now, more that ever; and it has to do with the approval rating of President Barack Obama, which according to most of these pollsters, is diminishing or sliding down; but that must be driving many people crazy and making them angry, because the figures seem to be fabricated.

Of course, his approval rating will not be favorable in view of the slow economy; but that alone must not be a gauge of the president's overall political performance.

Comparatively, apart from the failing economy inherited from the previous administration, Obama has achieved more than any president in recent history.

He has done better than Reagan, G. W. Bush, W. Bush and Clinton all put together.

He has been able to end the War in Iraq, Osama bin Laden and Gadhafi have been eliminated, and his foreign policy is winning friends for the U.S., with Burma being the latest example.

An arch enemy of the United States, the leader of N. Korea, Kim Jong-il, has died on his watch, which must be a plus for him.

Besides, he is the only president that has gone to war with another country, as being part of NATO, in which there has not been a single American military casualty; and that is from how he has approached that war, by having a firm conviction that putting troops on the ground in Libya will not be a good idea. The war can be fought by using modern methods, and he has been proved to be right.

It (war) is now over, with the U. S. getting most of the credit of how it has been handled, and so winning a victory for the U.S. and its allies.

The question now is, where are these pollster companies and organizations conducting their surveys? Whom are they interviewing to get their results, all of which look like they are framed? Are they playing on the ignorance of the American public; and if so, why?

Obama's record must not be considered as being wholly successful, with immigration and border protection issues not being resolved completely or satisfactorily; however, he has done very well with respect to most of his priorities, compared with where he has not yet succeeded.

One media outlet in particular has made Obama its whipping boy, and if it is not lambasting him on his foreign policy, or the economy or unemployment, it is criticizing him for having long vacations and playing golf in Hawaii. What?

It is as if it (outlet) is acting on the advice of Obama's opponents; and that will not be fair to him personally, and to the country he leads as Commander-In-Chief of its armed forces.

Nevertheless, the facts are there, in black and white, for the people wanting to know the truth to analyze them any way they choose.

Giving false poll numbers does make the media to be untrustworthy; and that is not what Americans want the media and pollster companies and organizations to be noted for.

In a Democracy, the media is the reflection of the people's mindset; and if they (media) are full of liars, so is that country, which accepts lying as being the norm. Its credibility is always on the line as being questionable and therefore unacceptable, especially, in international circles.

The media and the pollsters, therefore, have the responsibility to be honest and fair, in accordance with their own rules and guidelines that they have voluntarily imposed on themselves, for readers and viewers to appreciate them the way they want to be appreciated.

Honesty, they say, is the best policy.