Say It Ain’t So, Barack! I’m starting to see negative McCain ads from Obama. Huge mistake. Best to let McCain go on looking like a jackass for his Britney and Paris ads. Obama’s people are probably telling him he’s got to go negative to fight back. I think they’re wrong. I think pollsters are counting the usual folk on determining Obama’s poll positions, while the stealth legion of potential Obama voters flies beneath the radar. There’s no reason, none, for Obama to go negative or to start waging a typical campaign. That’s what McCain wants. McCain’s ads are most effective among people not likely to vote for Obama anyway. Firing back with negative ads is just a waste of time, and it tarnishes Obama’s brand name.
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4 Comments
I'm in PA, which people keep saying is perhaps "leaning strongly" towards Obama, so maybe he's not unleashing with both barrels here, but the only "negative" ad I've seen from him is the one full of the 3rd party dismissals of McCain's attacks. It might be getting a little rougher out there in CO, I don't know.
scrawled by Pauly T. | August 9, 2008 1:37 PM
Absolutely disagree. John Kerry didn't stand up for himself against Bush, and look where that got him. You make a good point about this being a race where unexpected demographics are going to turn out, but I think that's going to happen REGARDLESS of what happens in the next three months.
I would say that the key difference between McCain's negative ads and Obama's is that McCain's focus on personality while Obama's focus on policy -- at least, as much as a thirty-second ad CAN.
That said, Obama HAS been too quick to cave to the polls in a number of cases -- offshore drilling, telecom immunity, and that asinine "let's give everybody $1000" idea.
scrawled by Thad | August 9, 2008 11:46 PM
What is so horribly negative about those ads? Obama is sold and fawned over like a pop star. Whether you agree or not, it's a valid comparison and doesn't disparage his character.
scrawled by greg zywicki | August 12, 2008 7:02 AM
Fawned over like a pop star? The implication is that all of his supporters are celebrity obsessed fools. Yeah, that's a good way to gain support. Insult the intelligence of the majority of the American people. Let's be fair, McCain is simply jealous because Obama draws 200,000 to hear him speak while McCain draws 100 to watch him eat sausage. McCain's the only one of the two to have a feature film made about him, so forget all this "celebrity" nonsense.
scrawled by Trav | August 12, 2008 12:44 PM