Associated Press Writer David Caruso's reference to Green Party candidate Michael Morrill as taking "a more moderate approach" ("Fisher requests debates exclude third parties," Oct. 17 article) in his story on the second gubernatorial debate was either poor word choice or egregious journalism.

To give Caruso the benefit of the doubt, perhaps he was simply evaluating the style of presentation of the two third-party candidates, Morrill and Libertarian Ken Krawchuk. If so, selecting a word with a political connotation was an unfortunate decision, especially since a word like "subdued" would have sufficed. But considering the word choice and context, the obvious interpretation has Caruso comparing Morrill's political views to Krawchuk's. Besides clearly exhibiting a biased perspective, calling Morrill "more moderate" than Krawchuk is false -- both third-party candidates find themselves on the fringe of the political spectrum.

Moderates don't fight for universal health care and an $11-an-hour minimum wage -- because these are far left and socialist positions. Krawchuk is equally distant from center: His opinions regarding government-supported education and welfare land him in the camp supporting unfettered capitalism. Neither should be deceivingly labeled "moderate," for if Morrill is centrist, who then is liberal?