Negative Political Ads

I was watching T.V. the other day and during a commercial break I saw four political ads in a row- four! And at least three of them were negative. What’s up with that?

   Everyone I speak to about political ads say they hate all of the negativity. I wonder why a candidate can’t just bring up their own qualifications and leave out the attacks. But even though we all hate the negative ads and political ads in general, they’re still showing them, so they must be doing something, right?

   Well, they do a little. An article from Discover News says that while negative ads do not affect voter turnout or change the minds of decided voters, they do encourage people to look more deeply into the issues and do some research themselves. The article reports that most people claim that the negative ads have no affect on them. But, studies have shown that certain key words can stick with us and possibly affect our opinions involving the candidates attacked in the ads.

   So it seems like there may be something to negative ads. In the upcoming presidential election, the margins are tight between the incumbent and his challenger. According to Gallup, today (10/24) there is only a one percent difference (47% to 48%) between the two candidates amongst registered voters. That means that if the studies mentioned in the article I mentioned are correct, negative ads could have an affect on the election- likely on the undecided voters.

   If it is also true that negative ads encourage potential voters to look more deeply at the issues, then are they so bad? Isn’t it best if we are all take the time to educate ourselves about the candidates and the issues? We all hate negative ads, but if their affect is beneficial toward the education of voters, (as indirect as it may be) then I’m all for them. So next time you see a negative political ad, go ahead and gripe about it, but remember that it may be inspiring another voter to educate him/herself.