by Paul Schingle

Created on: August 20, 2008

While I disagree with Republicans on a lot of fundamental issues, I will agree with one general stand Republicans tend to make. If there is a negative situation in the country, the answer isn't always to pass a new law. I agree that negative campaigning can really get out of hand, but passing a new law to try to prevent it is a waste of legislators time and all of our money. We don't need new legislation. We need a new breed of politicians who will learn to take the high road. (I know, I know-keep dreaming).

This election is no different than the rest. I was hoping for a little better showing from Obama, but I guess it wasn't in the cards. Granted, he's slung less mud than McCain, but the fact is he's using negative campaigning as well. This is disappointing, but not particularly surprising.

I think the biggest problem with negative campaigning is, it really doesn't work. For people who are already leaning toward McCain, it doesn't help his cause all that much to spread lies (or exaggerations) about Obama. McCain wants to scare people into thinking that Obama is a big, scary Muslim (which he isn't) who is soft on foreign policy and wants to spend more than the government takes in. Now, for the people who support McCain, they will automatically believe this tripe. For those who support Obama, they will ignore the ads. For the truly undecided voters, the negative stuff is just distracting. I don't think the negative campaigns really change anyone's mind.

Likewise for Obama. His ads will tell you that a vote for McCain is just like voting for a third term for George W. In some aspects, this is true (the war In Iraq, for instance). In some aspects, this is not true. (For instance, I think McCain will reign in government spending much better than Bush has). At any rate, even though I do support Obama, his ads don't do that much for me. And pro-McCain people are going to tune the ads out as well. So, again, the truly undecided voters have to sift through the lies, half-truths and exaggerations. To many, it's just not worth it.

Yes, something needs to be done about political mudslinging. But, legislation is not the answer. The answer is finding political candidates who want to talk about specific issues from there end, without trying to misrepresent the other side. Will this ever happen? Probably not in the near future. But, one thing is for sure. Legislation is not the answer.

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