Poll how does smear affect your vote
 

To me this is non political because I'm not asking for, nor do I want ANY partisan or political comments. I want just your feelings and maybe why you voted the way you did, PROVIDED it is non-partisan.

If you feel you must be partisan please start your own thread and poll.

This is just a question of whether or not you view negative responses to controversy as a weakness in a candidate. And if you would vote for the candidate if you thought it were a weakness.

you may vote 2 times I think once for 1-7 once for 8-10

NEGATIVE RESPONSES TO COINTROVERSY: continues to argue the issue, allows the issue to affect his campaign, cries foul, responds to the issue then when issue gets hotter responds again with a different or slight change in original answer,

Negative reaction though can be objective because the voter has a different view of what is negative reactions to them. Hopefully those taking the poll can explain thier definition of negative reaction to smear.

Looks like we were thinking the same thing.......

:icare:

Define "negative responses to controversy".

The canadites up for election who continually perpetuate smear by making it an issue end up validating it or at least making the waters so murky its impossible to find the truth. I have to say when theres some good drama going on in washington the press is pretty bipartisan. They will run with the stories that will keep their audience riveted. A canadite who has to have the last throw in the mudfight shows a complete lack of understanding of the way the media handles politics in this country, and it will eventually hurt them.

you don't have an option: I vote for that canidate that does the least smearing

Good point Rekna I should have included that option.

I abhor smear regardless of who engages in it, as I'm sure most voters do. My usual attitude when going to the polls are: *sigh*, one of these days, a candidate will actually deserve to win.

While I don't typically change my mind on a candidate who engages in smear, it does make me wish they had showers in the voting places.

I had to laugh.... yes showers would be nice in voting booths... they could at least offer handi wipes so that after voting you can disinfect the hand that had to vote.

Vote Mcain 2008!

Mrs. Clinton/Gore 2008!

Actually, this year, I've lost all interest in voting for anyone. I think they're both completely full of shit, and I'm terrified that one of them will win. They've shown me how immature and childish they really are, and I couldn't give a rat's ass for either of them. They're just overhyped Jerry Springer Show contestants, both of them.

You think President Kerry will stand down after only one term

;) ;)

But is that not what a majority of our society wishes to have though?

If we keep having the lesser of 2 evils and all the smear that tells us how bad the other side is, then we, as a people, can blame everything going to Hell on them and not on ourselves. Even though we are responsible for what our leaders have become. When in a society like ours, I submit that when we lose faith in our government and find we can blame them for everything, then we as a society are dying out and the country we love will be lost and a shadow of itself (some may argue it is now.)

I think Kruschev said it best, "we will not have to invade you, we will not have to touch you, you will destroy yourselves from within."

It's like Ancient Rome, people can blame the emporers but was it not the people that could have changed the society from the Barrack room emporers, such as Caligula, Nero, Flavius, Claudius and so on. Look what they did to Ceasar when they believed he had become too big.

Yes, of course this is true. I don't think most of our society wants it this way, though. I think, in the context of here and now, this is the mentality of the younger generation - you know, the one that values clothing, style, the current popular slang, mtv and the like - showing how much of an effect it can have on society as a whole. Just about everything and everyone on television panders to the younger generation. Our politicians are playing little high-school games with each other, spreading rumors and gossip - knowing perfectly well that rumors and gossip need virtually no help at all to gain a life of their own and spread like wildfire, doing all kinds of unwarranted damage.

If running for president brings this type of behavior out of "grown men," then the process of running for president needs to change, plain and simple.

But as for the current election, I can't take either candidate any more seriously than I take a high-school drama queen.