I watched CNN for the debate just to see the graph. It was quite interesting. When Obama spoke, he often pegged the chart. McCain only occasionally hit the top, sometimes dipping below the middle. Based on that small sample, Obama killed and McCain’s message, style, etc weren’t working on that admittedly limited sample.
Given the Republican strategists and handlers were probably watching, too, plus hearing the growing discontent over the depressing negativity he and Palin have sunk to using, why are they still doing it? The public is smart enough — at least most of it — to know and understand and reject this tactic, so why continue it since the declining polls seem to indicate it ain’t working and may even be driving people away?
Voters’ debate reaction shows resistance to negativity
A moving graph at the bottom of the CNN screen during Tuesday night’s presidential debate measured the reactions of uncommitted voters in the swing state of Ohio, and it seemed to bear out the theory that negative campaigning draws negative voter reactions.
Nearly every time one candidate threw a jab at the other, the voter reaction dipped measurably.
The dips were minor for small digs but slipped further if a candidate continued criticizing his opponent.
For instance, reactions of both men and women voters slid into negative territory when Republican Sen. John McCain said that trying to nail down Democratic Sen. Barack Obama’s tax policies is like “nailing Jell-O to the wall.”
Similarly, the reaction line took a dive when Obama discussed McCain’s votes in the Senate against alternative fuels.
Such negative reactions are typically seen in voters who are undecided, said Merle Black, professor of politics and government at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
You sir, have a mental disorder. You don’t even know what the word liberal really means, anyway. It’s just a convenient label for you to put on the sack you stick everything you hate and fear into.
The real race haters and baiters in this country are the liberals. They know it deep into their souls. They feel guilty and it’s out of this liberal guilt that they believe that voting for a man just because of his skin color will make them feel better. You all know it. He hasn’t done anything that qualifies him to be President. It’s that he is black and you bastards feel guilty for what you have done to black americans in this country with your fucked-up social programs. You are the same bunch of assholes that will protest a tree that is being cut down to make way for a stadium at Berkley then return to your million dollar homes made of the finest oak with redwood decks. You are the same emotional idiots that scream when a cow is cracked in the dome to make a burger then reach for your iphone wrapped in a leather case. The same dip shits that whine about a fucking terrorist being walked around Abu Grab with some sweet smelling woman’s panties stretched across his noggin yet not say shit when they cut the fucking head off Daniel Pearl. Probably because he’s a jew. You racist bastards!
>> Why Are The Candidates Going Negative When Voters Hate It?
By using the plural, I assume you mean BOTH McCain and Palin.
Obama has run the cleanest campaign I can remember in YEARS.
#37: Actually, I meant McCain & Palin. You’re right about Obama. Commendable.
#31 (re: to #26)
“I saw it on MSNBC this a.m. If you google there a quite a few regional US papers reporting on this.
Don’t waste your typing on Uncle Dave, he will only “investigate” something if it doesn’t reflect poorly on liberals.”
::sigh:: i see your point..havent really payed attention *too much* to the slant on the DU authors..
i’ve seen/heard in local papers and AM radio, some buried articles on this as well as word of mouth via radio and people on the street
the past two days, talking about “bus loads” of people being shipped into ohio to exploit the same day voter registration/absentee voting “law” there…
then i ran across the sky news article this morning… seemed to me to have enough supporting evidence to warrant further investigation…
-granted i think the 2004 elections were scammed via electronic voting (on the repub side) ..seemed natural that this time around the dems would *level* the playing field this time around..
also worthy ofg note, i heard some clients talking about how the electronic voting this year has been largely centralized, and allows for and easy 30-40% of votes to be instantly changed, live, while voting is in progress..
again its hear-say, but enough imo, to warrant a headline investigation here in DU at least.
-regardless of which party is involved..
given the amount of blatant fraud at all levels of government coming to light as of late, (700bn bill *cough*) -no stone should be left unturned, imo…
(ps, fwiw:
i have my router programed to block anything Microsoft/MSN related, as i’ve found XP making alot of connection to odd MS-owned IP ranges and web addresses that have nothing to do with windows update etc..-that i did not initiate.
-and i have no services active that should be attempting such either.
-until my main Multi-OS BOX is back up and running proper with its full VM browsing setup.. i’m a bit leery of what is sneaking in and out of my box.. (stuck on a circa 2003 1ghz celeron/256mb/20gb box i resurrected/slapped together)
so i may be missing some news blurbs.. (aside from the fact that i rely 90% on foreign news sources and people for US news..as you well know…our media cant be trusted for crap..)
-s
Sure are a lot of ‘angry conservatives’ on this thread. James Hill take note please.
#35 Fedup – You and others like you are whats wrong with America. You and other like you are why the world hates America. You project your own deep seated racism onto so called ‘liberals’ who dare vote for a black man. You shit on those who care about the environment and social justice because Fox News tells you to hate people who are different. You, sir, are a slave. A slave to the neocon’s and their corporate masters neo-fascist ideology.
Either that or you a troll lookin’ for some lovin’.
Mind you Obama probably wont create much in the way of change, but kicking the neo-fascists out of office is change enough for me.
Great post, great question.
Maybe the candidates have misunderstood shows like “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report”, and mistakenly determined that negativity is popular among the young people. When in fact the true case is that satire and humour is considered necessary to keep us sane during the crap that the politicians have gotten us all into.
#35 FckedUp – You sir are projecting. and I don’t mean the little bits of food flying out of your mouth.
#39 soundman – What? You seem to be disjointed. I really would like to know that the hell you are wanting to say but reading your post is like listening to the schizophrenic homeless guy under the bridge.
#42, Mike,
What ever the fuck are you talking about? If you claim there is evidence of this why not link to it?
#39, soundwash,
Listening to Bush too much will make you a little crazy. If you try to talk like a normal American others might understand you a little better.
#35
kudos! best. conservative. rant. ever!
i would point out, however, that george w. bush had even less governmental experience than senator obama. and he was a former coke head.
just sayin.
obama could slam mccain for dumping his wife for a prettier, richer woman, like the sleezeball that he is
obama could slam palin for being the member of a anti-american secessionist movement
but no, obama will stay above the fray and let the conservatives lay in mud.
people who believe all these lies about obama were never going to vote for him anyway because he’s not a conservative, so it’s really a moot point.
for the record, the party of segregation, i mean, the gop, has done a adequate job of keeping race out of the picture. well done.
carry on, mudslingers.