What the Hell is a negative campaign???

[rpannier]

I'll agree calling someone names or lying about them is negative. But, why is highlighting an administrations disasterous three-and-a-half years in office negative campaigning?
I mean, how is the public supposed to judge whether scrubbie deserves four more years as president if Kerry cannot bring up dufus' miserable track record?

[trogdor]

1. It's not.

Highlighting your incumbent opponent's record is a necessary part of showing what you'd do different. Negative campaigning is forgetting the part about "what I'd do differently."

When the incumbent resorts to digging for nuggets of shit to throw at his opponent rather than highlight the good things he's done during his term in office, THAT's just plain mudslinging.

[Skidmore]

2. That's exactly the Rs game now. They are

playing a shell game with the facts and protecting their illigetimate thin skinned frat boy because he's not man enough to stand up and account for himself and his policies. We just need to keep calling them on it.

[Warpy]

3. That's the way it is, all right.

Kerry is trying to run a positive campaign, sticking to the issues, while having moveon.org and other 527's do the negative ads on Chicken George and his appalling policies and crew.

Bush ads have focused on slandering Kerry, and the contrast has been so stark as to backfire. They've only recently rushed out that warm, fuzzy ad with him and Pickles (who looks like it must be take 87, at least) and that bizarre statement about what kid to pick up on 9/11.

Negative advertising does nothing to promote one's own candidate, it is aimed at getting the other guy's voters to get disgusted and stay home. This is the first time I've seen it fail so completely, at least if polls are to be believed.

But then, Bush is the Worst.Presideent.Ever.

[emulatorloo]

4. Bush/Cheney are running on their record, but ascribing it to KERRY!

Cheney said the other day that Kerry lacks "deeply held convictions about right and wrong"

Coming from the guy who receives money from Halliburton and was best friends w Chalabi.

And Bush has somehow decided that Iraq War is Kerry's fault.