Nah, we are humans. We have free will. You can't just say 'they are sheep, it isn't their fault'.
Because in that case, you could say that about the rapist (his mom beat him), the killer (his dad tortured him), or any other bad act. Just justify it through 'well, it wasn't their fault, they are a product of their environment arguments'
It isn't the media. It is them. They don't want reasonable, logical candidates, which is why they vote against them.
They might have adverse environmental conditions that push them into bad decisions. But they are responsible none the less for their actions, and what their actions amount to.
If it was acceptable to torture your children and everyone said it was thing to do. Bet you a lot of people would do it...
That's a pretty far out comparison though. People do have free will, but they are also very easily manipulated. Many think with emotions, they crave to be accepted in society.
I can't count how many times I heard "I want to vote for ron paul but won't because he's not electable, I have to vote for someone so i'm picking X"
You would be surprised what sort of shit is used to sway the public's opinion on things.