Negative ads have only one purpose. That is to reduce the turnout of a candidates base.
Do you think that pointing out the shortcomings of kerry Will keep conservatives from Voting for Kerry?
Conservatives will not vote for Kerry no matter what.
Will negative ads cause the center to refuse to vote for kerry? Hardly.
The center votes on two factors. About half the independents vote for the man they like. How many times do they have to say they vote for the man and not the party, before we believe them. If they like the man, they vote for him. Running negative ads, mostly makes the independents think the side that ran them is unlikable. Negative ads are counter productive with the indpenedents.
the other half of the independents vote for the man who will do the most for them. If Kerry can be painted as a man who can not be believed, then it does not matter what Kerry promises.. they won't believe him.
If Bush wins the likability contest and kerry loses the I promise you contest, Bush has a lanslide victory.
Bush needs to present Kerry as a man who cannot be believed. It that gets done, then Kerry is toast.
"Bush needs to present Kerry as a man who cannot be believed. It that gets done, then Kerry is toast."
Which Bush can only do by running what is defined as Negative Ads. Bush has to run ads that spotlite Kerry in a Negative way. I think the problem here is we have too different understandings of Negative Ads. Too me calling Bush a liar who sent the troops into Iraq unprepared is a personal attack. Its an unsubstatiated accusation made wholly to attack the other candidate on a personal level. Pointing out that Kerry voted to send the troops to Iraq and then voted to cut off the funds needed to properly equip them is a Negative attack. It points out something negative about the candidate as opposed to something positive about the advertising candidate. The argument that Negative Advertising doesn't work is nonsense. Kerry went from 23% to 55% in one poll in 30 days solely on the basis
of negative attacks. Kerry has YET to make one positive speech or ad! His whole campaign is one of attacking Bush.
Even when he trys to say something positive it inveriably is something like "Well this administration wants to starve your kids but I will go to Washington and save you" Kerry starts even his positives off with a negative attack.