The last debate brought up the issue of the negative ads. I won't pretend here that I haven't chosen sides already. But that said, for me things REALLY get negative when the character attacks start. True, it would be great if a candidate only talked about their own campaign, their own plans and never once mentioned the opponent. I suppose that would constitute only "positive" ads. The downside to that of course is if the positive ads are only full of lies, then how does the truth get out there? And thus it starts. What I really wish was that each candidate could only comment on their own plans and themselves. If the other campaign (Candidate B) thought that there was misleading or erroneous info in that "positive ad" by Candidate A, they could pay a non-partisan, fact-checking group (FCG )to advertise the "inconsistencies". The FCG's could be agreed to in advance. The ad by the FCG would only address the incorrect or misleading info in Candiate A's ad. No comments about Candidate B or their plan. No comparing the two plans. No attacking Candiate A. Just, "This ad by Candidate A said this, but facts say that the following comment is incorrect, over-stated, misleading, whatever. That's it. Just like the news media has been doing after the debates. So-and-so said this number but it's that number.
Everyone from the Sunday Parade Magazine to Newsweek to the Wall Street Journal has been crunching the numbers and reviewing the claims. Why can't this be the way the ads are handled. Not candidate A & B attacking each other and repudiating each other's claims. I have hardly seen any ads from McCain that are really just about McCain. Even if I wanted to vote for McCain I've barely heard anything from his campaign that I would describe as "positive" ads. If Obama correcting the lies being told about him are negative ads, then perhaps Obama has spent a lot of money on negative ads. But a candidate having to restate his position and refute lies being told doesn't really count as a negative ad as far as I'm concerned. The Swiftboat ads were negative ads. Ads that attempt to link Obama to William Ayres and Acorn are negative ads. But I think this all is just the unfortunate way politics is handled. Next time around, I hope a candiate can ONLY talk about themselves. Can only talk about their programs and policies. Can NOT mention or even alude to their opposition. And the ads repudiating has to come from an FCG. If no one wants to spend their money on "correction" ads, they don't have to. But they can't do it themselves. Just a thought.
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