by James Oliphant
It's official: John McCain has become Negative Man.
The latest round of comprehensive polling from ABC News suggests that the senator's fusillade of attacks on Barack Obama, launched with a large assist from running mate Sarah Palin, have damaged his campaign and his stature in the eyes of voters. Almost 60 percent of voters surveyed by ABC said McCain is more interested in tearing down Obama than offering any ideas of his own.
Reports ABC:
While McCain's image as the more negative of the two is not new, it's sharpened considerably, coinciding with his campaign's more pointed criticisms of Obama in the last few weeks, including Sarah Palin's accusation that Obama's been "palling around with terrorists."
Registered voters by a 24-point margin, 59-35 percent, now say McCain is more focused on attacking his opponent rather than addressing the issues. That's grown from a roughly even 48-45 percent split on this question in late August.
There's far less criticism of the tone of Obama's campaign: Registered voters by 68-26 percent say he's mainly addressing the issues, not attacking his opponent, a slightly more positive rating than in August.
Perhaps this is more of a problem than usual because Americans face enough economic bad news in their own lives right now and they last thing they want is to turn on the television and hear more of it. And it's possible that McCain's campaign has come to a similar conclusion if McCain's attempt to rachet down the rhetoric over the weekend was any indication.
There may be a new strategy in play: Promote fears of a Democratic takeover of government. In a speech today in Virginia, McCain will tie Obama to the Democratic-led Congress.
Conservative columnist Bill Kristol wrote in the New York Times today that McCain should fire his campaign, which he accused of botching the job and preventing the public from seeing the real candidate. Although it's sort of interesting that Kristol wrote the column Monday because two weeks ago, he was a proponent of going negative against Obama. Palin's national "favorability" ratings have taken a hit as a result.
Didn't help that over the weekend, Palin was showered with boos at a Philadelphia Flyers hockey game. (Maybe Kristol is onto something. Whoever thought putting Palin in front of a Philly sports crowd was a good idea perhaps should be cleaning out his desk right now.)
This has led to talk of (another) "reboot" of the McCain campaign coming this week, perhaps away from a Rovian approach back to a more positive, service-oriented campaign.
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Comments
And next week he will be telling us that Obama's great-uncle twice removed was a communist. Yawn.
Posted by: Kenneth Janowski | October 13, 2008 11:54 AM
Don't believe for a minute that this is the case. Truth never stopped you before and it won't this time. Continue on the path you are on. Ayers, palling around with terrorists, needs to be answered. We haven't heard enough. "Great" Americans like you know that not "all" Americans deserve to be here. Onward Christian soldiers...onward!
Posted by: bill "Hussein" r. | October 13, 2008 11:57 AM
But I thought it was the Democrats that started the name calling. Every news show I saw this weekend has a Republican talking head blaming the whole negative campaigning dust up on those nasty Democrats. I guess sounding shrill and like a petulant child only serves to make things worse. Next thing you know Obama will be accused of touching McCain or sitting on his side of issues (car) and we'll then all be forced to turn the car around and go home.
Negative and Childish GOP. Why won't they just discuss the issues?
Posted by: kg123 | October 13, 2008 12:03 PM
I can only hope the public continues to punish those who do not focus on the issues that matter most to them. Not only in this election, but in future ones.
Posted by: Karl | October 13, 2008 12:06 PM
yesterdays Gallup had them 7 points apart rather than 11 or so days prior.
Rasmussen had them a lot further apart as well, but today it's only 50-45 Obama.
While MSM calls it negative attacks ha ha, most non-partisans call it informing the American People about a posible presidential candidate having what is turning out to be a close relationship with a radical American/terrorist...which he has been denying, much like he first did when questioned about knowing about Rev Wrights radical racist BLT sermons Wright said that he preached for the 20 years that Obama belonged ha.
MAYBE ABC needs to look at The Swamps earlier site saying that the two candidates were EQUAL on negative adds....that means SAME AMOUNT ha.
NO, we are all sooooooo beside ourselves over this collapse, as with the GREAT DEPRESSION.... that a diversion from this BANKING CRISIS NEWS THAT MEDIA CONTINUALLY REPORTS 24/7 is very much welcomed.
It takes our minds off of THE CRISIS, keeps us from jumping out the windows, and INFORMS US OF INFO we just can't find in the MSM.
Posted by: LET THEM SPEAK ! ! ! | October 13, 2008 12:20 PM
It is pretty clear that the negative approach was a result of fear of loss - Obama's surge rests with an attitude of optimism. The American people respond to optimism. ................
http://thefiresidepost.com/2008/10/12/obamas-journey-dont-stop-believing/
Posted by: Ohg Rea Tone | October 13, 2008 12:41 PM
So the new tactic is to re-introduce Fear? In order to appeal to man's most basic, gut wrenching, survival instinct McCain/Palin will stoop to scaring the population in order to win an election?
Country First? yeah right.
Posted by: waldO | October 13, 2008 1:37 PM
It's official, all right.
The import of the above article is that the in-the-tank-for Obama media has persuaded the public, through their own negative reporting, that the milktoast McCain campaign is more "negative" than Obama's.
Part of this media blitz for Obama is that they censor the incredibly vulgar and vicious things their fellow leftists are saying about McCain and Palin, things I can't repeat but which are there for all to see at www.michellemalkin.com.
Posted by: Disgusted | October 13, 2008 1:50 PM
Disgusted:
Michelle Malkin??????? THAT'S your source? The most right-wing, vicious woman on earth?? You have GOT to be kidding me!!!!
This was a woman who wrote that the US government was RIGHT to put the Japanese in internment camps during WWII!!! She is so far out there, NOBODY believes what she says!!!
Yep - it was that "in-the-tank" media that ran the hit piece on Fox News by Shaun Hannity about Obama by Anthony Martin. Has Hannity apologized yet for this???
Posted by: Bob "Hussein" inAtlanta | October 13, 2008 2:53 PM
Bob-they wouldn't let me post on that site, because it would shorten it's lifespan.
Media Matters is not the person who found the spreader of the MUSLIM RUMOR.
That person was a woman who was a strong supporter of Obama.
Here is a portion of the Washington Post who wrote about this woman in the first place>
As an Obama supporter -- she had met the senator while she worked as a dean at the University of Chicago -- it made her angry. And curious.
"I started thinking, 'How does one stop it?' "
Allen set her sights on dissecting the modern version of a whisper campaign, even though EXPERTS TOLD HER IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE TO TRACE the chain e-mail to its origin. Along the way, even as her hunt grew cold, she gained valuable insight into the way political information circulates, mutates and sometimes devastates in the digital age.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/27/AR2008062703781.html?hpid=topnews&sid=ST2008062703939&pos=
Posted by: THIS WAS ABSOLUTE POPPY COCK | October 13, 2008 4:11 PM
The rabid hatred of Obama supporters. It's all there for everyone to see. Even reporters. Even people nutty enough to rename themselves "Hussein."
Even the LA Times, the Trib's sister newspaper, links to the photo of Obama supporters proclaiming Gov. Palin a C--T. As does ABC News (see http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2008/10/vile-anti-palin.html) and politico.com. And in case you're curious, a person wearing this t-shirt can be sen at Obama's OFFICIAL website, barackobama.com.
Posted by: Disgusted | October 13, 2008 6:55 PM
Once agaian, the "pull yourselves up by your bootstraps", party of personal responsibility starts pointing fingers at the "liberal media" when ever they find themselves on the losing end of an argument. Ok, let's pretend for a moment there actually IS a liberal media bias. And this would be a bad thing... why exactly?
But since we know that is a pure delusion on the part of infants that can't stand to come in second place, let us just enjoy that fact that the mcBUSH campaign has run what might be considered the worst campaign in the history of America. We're talking worse than McGovern, worse than Dukakis. We're talking like the French during WW2 bad. McBUSH has armed his Maginot line, and they are waiting for Obama to make a front end assault. Ooops! I am SO looking forward to the next debate.
Posted by: tried and true American | October 13, 2008 7:02 PM
tried and true wrote>let's pretend for a moment there actually IS a liberal media bias.
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That is the most ridiculous statement I've read at The Swamp. I guess you must have the same problem the MSM have got...you're continually quenching your thirst>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBeUGqeYsQg
Posted by: MSM have been sipping at the pitcher to long | October 13, 2008 8:30 PM
McCain's attack is a response to the deafening silence of the mainstream media in not properly vetting Obama earlier. Neither one of these men are the best people to lead our Country. The ones that would have been were marginalized earlier, just as Sarah Palin is being marginalized now. Why is it okay to have alliances with people who foment hatred of America, but not to inspire Americans to be proud of their Country and have a tract record of protecting our freedoms?
Posted by: Geena | October 13, 2008 10:35 PM