2008 Primaries, Branding Politix, Messaging • May 29th, 2008

The pros and cons of ‘going negative’

by Chris Lato

Readers of this blog know I don’t agree with the notion of ‘negative’ campaign ads being, well, negative - particularly if they are addressing an opponent’s record. Calling attention to, and criticizing an opponent’s record, whether it be a vote in Congress, a statement to a reporter, or a lack of pertinent experience, it’s all fair game in my view.

That’s why this article from the Harvard Business School intrigued me. The author breaks down the ‘negative’ ads being fired by the Hillary Clinton campaign at Barack Obama and makes a case for why political ads use this tactic while B2B ads typically do not.

One partial quote did jump out at me – referring to “…Obama trying to stay positive and clinging to the moral high ground by staying positive…” Unless you’re an ardent Hillary supporter, Obama is the clear front-runner. He’s running on the ‘moral superiority’ platform – that is, his campaign would have you believe Obama is above petty politics. It’s a new day in America, etc. It sounds almost….Reaganesque.

Everyone’s buying it for now, but will it last? Once this race tightens up, and it will, can Obama resist jumping on the ‘negative’ campaign bandwagon? For example, John McCain has a long, long record of votes in the Senate that will be prime fodder for attacks. And that is fine. McCain should have to defend his record and Obama will undoubtedly begin to take aim, as he should.

And ironically, McCain’s own leadership role on campaign finance ‘reform,’ working in concert with our own Senator Russ Feingold, could be McCain’s undoing. Third party independent spending has grown exponentially thanks to this ‘reform,’ and while McCain will undoubtedly benefit from some of that spending, he will also be the target of the George Soros types who will spend untold millions ripping McCain up and down right up to Election Day.

In other words, Obama could potentially stay largely above the fray while the ‘independent’ groups tear McCain to shreds. And they will.

————-

WISPUNDITS MEDIA ALERT! Listen to Wisconsin Public Radio tomorrow morning from 8-9 AM to enjoy yours truly discussing “The Week in Review.” And if you feel compelled to call in, make sure to tell ‘em Wispundits sent ya.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 29th, 2008 at 3:17 pm and is filed under 2008 Primaries, Branding Politix, Messaging. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.