Arm yourself with all the facts

In this presidential election season of rumor and innuendo, it's difficult to know just what to believe about the two men running for the highest office in the land.
The incumbent, President Bush, and the challenger, Sen. John Kerry, have been put in a different light by negative campaigning on both sides.
So what's an outdoorsman or woman to do when it comes to the issues most near and dear to us?
If you pick up a copy of the October 2004 issue of Field & amp; Stream magazine, you might get an idea.
The editors of F & amp;S have conducted exclusive interviews with both men on a variety of topics concerning outdoors issues.
Extensive chats
The extensive chats with both men are included in a section titled "A Sporting Debate: George Bush vs. John Kerry."
The articles are fair and about as unbiased as they get.
In them we get a sense of where both men stand on issues as far-ranging as the environment, fishing, deer hunting, wildlife habitat, the NRA and gun laws, the Great Lakes initiative and wetlands policy.
The interviews also bring out some surprising information about both men.
Bush
In the Bush article, conducted by F & amp;S editor-in-chief Sid Evans, we find the president concerned about the future involving conservation and resources.
"The best conservation policy recognizes that we are in a transition period between how we have used resources in the past and how we are going to use them in the future," he tells Evans.
He also tells the F & amp;S editor that he enjoys quail hunting but that he's not a very good shot. Additionally, the president says "I think we ought to keep the [assault weapons] ban. I've said the ban ought to be extended but not expanded."
Kerry
In the piece on Kerry, written by F & amp;S contributing editor Bob Marshall, we learn some things that many outdoorsmen and women might not know.
Marshall quotes Kerry talking about his love of fishing and how he used to hunt woodchuck when he was a boy, as well as deer, rabbit and other game later in life.
Kerry talks about the detrimental view of him by the NRA and points out that he is not against guns and gun ownership as some have painted him.
"I'm never going to vote to take away guns. I never have. But at the same time, with the right to own a gun comes responsibility. Everyone who owns a gun knows that," he said.
Kerry also stresses that he is committed to the environment as well as access to hunting and fishing: "I want land agencies to take the multiple-use mandate seriously. And I want to assure that fish and wildlife are not sacrificed to irresponsible processes."
There is enough information in the F & amp;S articles to allow most well-informed sportsmen and women to make the choice that best suits them come Nov. 2.
Two covers
For the October issue, F & amp;S produced two covers.
One, for subscribers, shows the traditional deer hunting cover. Newsstand sales, however, shows a photo of Bush and a promo for the candidate interviews. A notation on Page 8 explains that a photo of Bush was used on the newsstand version because he is the sitting president but that the interviews on both men were treated equally on the inside pages.
braun@vindy.com