Quote:
Originally Posted by ratbastid
+1
Couple this with the demonstrated fact that negative campaigning works, and you've got exactly the perfect setup for the situation described in the OP.
Now: traditionally (and in this particular season), bitterly negative campaigns are used by the candidate who's behind. Their campaign becomes less about their positives and more about putting dents in the front-runner. And that's what's happening here. Strangely--and this has little historic precedent--it's not working this time. The hard-core GOP who are going to follow McCain to hell are buying the attacks, but it appears that moderates and independents are repulsed. Probably because of the perfect-storm domestic issues going on right now, would be my guess. They don't want somebody who can slime the opposition, they want somebody who has answers and can solve problems.
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in this case, the historic trend of jettisoning the riffraff from office when the shit hits the fan is outpacing the historic trend of negative campaigning
low information voters are persuaded by negative campaigning. lately, however, the economic crisis has been so acute even former low information voters are being personally affected and people are tuning into the campaigns at a higher rate.