Of all times to go negative, former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson chose the CNN/YouTube debate on Nov. 28, 2007. But why?
After all, Thompson recently earned the coveted National Right To Life Committee (NRTLC) endorsement and has appeared to be a cinch for the conservative vote. What's the point of going negative now? And why at a nationally televised debate?
Before Thompson starts getting roasted for launching a negative campaign ad, those roasting him would be wise to remember that Thompson wasn't the first presidential candidate to go negative. That honor belongs to Illinois State Sen. Barack Obama. Obama gave himself plenty of plausible deniability when his minions launched the Hillary 1984 Internet ad and the Democratic Senator has smirkingly denied any and all association with it.
It's important to realize that it was only a matter of time before one of the GOP candidates launched a negative ad, and you have to give Thompson credit -- he did it in a forum where he would immediately be held accountable and could answer questions about it directly.
In an ideal world, negative campaiging wouldn't work and the people running those ads would never get elected. Since we live in the real world, however, negative ads are part of the political process and must be tolerated. The simple, honest truth is negative ads work, and as the campaign hurtles ever closer to the Iowa Republican Caucus on Jan. 3, 2008, expect to see other negative ads seep into TV sets and -- more importantly -- across the Internet.
Let's hope all the candidates take Thompson's lead and are willing to take responsibility for their negativity. At least then we can have an open and honest campaign -- even if it is negative.
After all, Thompson recently earned the coveted National Right To Life Committee (NRTLC) endorsement and has appeared to be a cinch for the conservative vote. What's the point of going negative now? And why at a nationally televised debate?
Before Thompson starts getting roasted for launching a negative campaign ad, those roasting him would be wise to remember that Thompson wasn't the first presidential candidate to go negative. That honor belongs to Illinois State Sen. Barack Obama. Obama gave himself plenty of plausible deniability when his minions launched the Hillary 1984 Internet ad and the Democratic Senator has smirkingly denied any and all association with it.
It's important to realize that it was only a matter of time before one of the GOP candidates launched a negative ad, and you have to give Thompson credit -- he did it in a forum where he would immediately be held accountable and could answer questions about it directly.
In an ideal world, negative campaiging wouldn't work and the people running those ads would never get elected. Since we live in the real world, however, negative ads are part of the political process and must be tolerated. The simple, honest truth is negative ads work, and as the campaign hurtles ever closer to the Iowa Republican Caucus on Jan. 3, 2008, expect to see other negative ads seep into TV sets and -- more importantly -- across the Internet.
Let's hope all the candidates take Thompson's lead and are willing to take responsibility for their negativity. At least then we can have an open and honest campaign -- even if it is negative.
More on Fred Thompson at About.com:
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