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Working on my paper on the effects of negative ads on voters, and... I need to vent.

Real quick.

The lesson of the last 50 years is this: if you get hit, hit back. Hit hard, hit fast, and move on.

Dukakis didn't do it when allies of the Bush camp ran the 'Willie Horton' ads. He lost.

Clinton did it each and every step of the way during his two runs. He won.

Gore didn't do it in his campaign. He lost.

Kerry didn't do it when allies of the Bush camp ran the 'Swift boat' ads. He lost.

Do you see a pattern?

I'll be back with all the details in a week or two once this research is done. It's just ridiculous how closely the Swift Vets chronology tracks to the Willie Horton chronology. In both cases, it was a group with very, very close ties to the Bush administration mysteriously acting on its own in a way that perfectly played into the Bush campaign's strategy. They had little money, aired the ad a limited number of times, and used media coverage to create an echo chamber effect that pushed the story for weeks. In both cases the Bush camp was called on to pull the ad, and in both cases they waited weeks before acting. And worst of all, in both cases the Dems failed to mount a proper response, allowing the GOP to reframe a critical issue in the election.

Nothing like a Bush to drag this nation into the gutter.

Blah.

Back to work...

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