campaign. That is the extensive media coverage of party views and platforms and the statements and the thinking of individual candidates, including the independent candidates. Because Bermuda is so small, this has been almost a complete course for the public on what the politicians think and what they claim they can achieve for Bermuda. Seldom has any electorate approached polling day with so much information.

This newspaper has worked very hard to make its coverage both accurate and complete. We have not always pleased the political parties or all the candidates but we have done our best to be careful to provide equal space.

On occasion we have had difficulty reaching some of the individual politicians involved and in each case we have said that simply so that the public would know that we were trying and not ourselves leaving some people out. If they are not available or choose not to talk to The Royal Gazette , there is little we can do.

It was interesting that the Independent candidate in St. George's North, Kenny Bascome, vowed not to talk to this newspaper until our News Editor explained to him that there was little advantage in being unheard from. He then met with our Political Reporter in St. George's and wound up on the front page. In the complex race in St. George's North, we thought all the voters had a right to hear from Kenny Bascome and we think his inclusion was good journalism.

In recent days we have been flooded with Letters to the Editor. In an attempt to get them in print we have used extra pages of letters. We have also concentrated on the short letters because the more we could include the more opinions we could present to the public and the more people could have their say. We will have some letters left over but, to our credit, not very many.

We have been criticised for publishing the Delaey Robinson advertisement. We did not like it any more than many other people but we could not find a legal reason not to print it. To exclude any advertisement simply because we did not like it would be a denial of free speech and of the freedom of the press. The proof of that is our frequent publication of Letters to the Editor of all sorts which we do not like, but we print them none the less. It is obvious that we do not like letters which are highly critical of The Royal Gazette and in particular its staff but we print them regularly.

On Thursday night our production and circulation departments both goofed. We failed through a mis-communication to insert the UBP's abbreviated "Keys to Partnership'' and we left out photos of the candidates in a PLP Hamilton West advertisement. We have corrected both mistakes this morning.

It is the way of the world that you cannot please everyone and we are not infallible on Par-la-Ville Road nor have we ever claimed to be. Far too often politicians and members of the public believe that a simple mistake is some kind of very devious plot. We make our share of mistakes but we are required by "the nature of the beast'' to make them in public; other people have a chance to hide theirs.