Thursday, September 04, 2008

I Like the Negative...

When it comes to politics, and particularly national politics the most potent weapon in the a candidate's arsenal is not the ability to formulate great ideas, it is not an impressive career record or great oratory ability, in fact it is not even name recognition or the unquantifiable "likeability factor". Instead the true political weapon of mass destruction is the ability to paint your opponent in negative terms. We all know what this looks like, from negative campaign ads, to speeches laced with personal attacks, to the "spin squads" filled with visible political allies who work hard to assassinate the character of your opponent. Now all campaigns use this tactic in different ways and with varying degrees of success. So what can we do about it? Can we ever bring about a change to this system? Well, I think it may be difficult and here is why...Many if not most Americans feign disgust and aggravation with this tactic, while at the same time enjoying every tasty morsel of hate laced speech. So, at a minimum we should get credit for feeling guilty about the enjoyment we gain from this public spitting match. It is just like that nasty car wreck that you drive by on your way home, you hate to look, but not only do you slow to a crawl, you stick your head out the window and gawk like professional bird watcher.

Well folks, I am here to tell you to feel guilty no more. Like the kid who learns that Santa is not real, it is time that we all wake up to the fact that negative attacks are not only part of the political process, but an extremely effective tool in galvanizing support behind a candidate or cause. I like negative attacks, I like the fact that one can stand up in front of an audience of millions of television viewers and torture, contort, and abuse the truth. I like the fact that despite the ridiculousness of any claim there are still those who will believe it. It is one of the things that makes politics interesting. It keeps people involved and talking about the campaigns. So I say go to town boys and girls. Spit those negative ads out, give the speeches with more inaccuracies than an Ann Coulter column, and by all means please keep writing books about Swift Boats and Barack Obama being a Muslim. Those of us who toil with the drudgery and utter boredom of work everyday appreciate having your hyperbolic statements to amuse us, and remind us just how stupid people really are.

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