The Invisible Negative Campaign -- Political Wire

The Invisible Negative Campaign

With record numbers of political ads flooding the airwaves in Pennsulvania, the Philadelphia Daily News notes the lack of attack spots, saying "the contrast illustrates an odd dynamic at work in the campaign, both in Pennsylvania and nationally."

"Both candidates want to damage the other's popularity, but are afraid to use the weapon that really gets results: the hard-edged, 30-second attack ad with grainy black-and-white images and an announcer reciting the worst things about an opponent."

Instead the attacks come in campaign conference calls with reporters. "The result is a campaign in which candidates take the high road in TV ads and most public statements, but their staff and surrogates feed reporters negative information."

This is all the more reason to applaud Dave Winer's effort to make podcasts of the campaign conference calls available to everyone.

April 9, 2008

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Taegan D. Goddard is the creator of Political Wire, a political column updated around the clock with the most interesting news, buzz and commentary.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

This is a personal site and does not necessarily reflect the views of any company, political campaign or advocacy group.

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