As the mother of a 2-year-old, I am disappointed to see what today’s politicians are teaching our children during this campaign season. In my opinion, they are teaching our children that in order to win, you must slander the opponent, call them names and dig up issues from their past to make them look bad.

Whatever happened to the old adage: “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”?

School systems across the United States are implementing anti-bullying programs, yet our politicians are using bullying tactics to get people to vote for them. What kind of an example are they setting for our future leaders?

I am not so naive as to think this is not part of the “real” world, but I would hope that, eventually, our politicians would see what kind of an example they are setting.

As an adult, I believe I can form my own opinion for whom to vote by looking at a candidate’s strengths, views and opinions. Hearing one candidate bad-mouth the other does not sway my vote; in fact, it makes me not want to vote for the candidate doing the bad-mouthing.

Unfortunately, though, that would mean not voting for anyone, because all candidates do it in one form or another.

Abraham Lincoln once said “You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.” I think today’s politicians should take those words to heart.

Kimberley Dolbier, Rangeley