Poll: Voters See McCain As The Negative Campaigner By Six To One

[ProSense]

Poll: Voters See McCain As The Negative Campaigner By Six To One

By Greg Sargent - August 20, 2008, 6:15PM
Here's some good polling news for Obama. It appears voters are accurately perceiving John McCain as far and away the more negative campaigner in the race...

By a nearly six-to-one margin, voters say Republican presidential candidate John McCain is running a negative campaign against his Democratic rival, Barack Obama, according to the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll.

Nearly three in 10 voters, 29%, pointed to McCain as the candidate running a negative campaign, compared to just 5% who said Obama is running a negative campaign. McCain's 29% rating is the highest of any one candidate in the previous two presidential elections according to the WSJ/NBC News survey.

This lends some comfort to purveyors of the "rope a dope" theory of the campaign, which holds that Obama is waiting for McCain to firmly define himself as the dirty campaigner, thus giving himself cover to go after McCain in earnest after the conventions, when voters are really paying attention.

[rockymountaindem]

1. Yet he's not losing

Obama needs to get really negative. It will only hurt McCain.

[Bobbieo]

2. Not In AZ!!!

[DFLforever]

3. The polls even the close ones also show McCain leaking Indy

support and I guess this is why.

Intentional Obama strategy, imo.

[thewiseguy]

4. It doesnt make a fucking difference

Do you remember during the primaries that most voters thought that Hillary had attacked Obama unfairly? Yet Hillary would manage to win in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and other late states?

Negative campaigning wont make people vote for someone else.

[DFLforever]

5. I've read that Repub strategists think that one of the main

reasons Romney lost was because he went negative TOO EARLY before he established positive creds. Thus the neg ads backfired big time.

[thewiseguy]

8. Romney lost because he was a phony

Plus the fact that Huckabee stayed in the race for too long.

[Spiffarino]

13. Period. n/t

[my3boyz]

12. Hillary was going to win those states favorable to her anyway.

Her voters were in those states. Period. Obama closed the gap a lot but the type of voters that support him do not like in those states in huge numbers.

[flamingdem]

6. Now that is a believable poll nt

[Lifetimedem]

7. Negative campaigning works

BO needs to step up comparison ads hat point out McCains weakness in economic affairs and also his age and temper.

Do we want a "hot head" with the button or a thoughtful man?

[Awsi Dooger]

9. That's a great indication

It means Obama is seen as more likable. If someone is likable the public never perceives them as overly negative.

Take everything in stride. Obama has the situational edge and the money. That money will eventually pay dividends. McCain is old and vulnerable. We can lose, but I'll take 62% likelihood at this point of every presidential cycle the rest of my life.

[my3boyz]

10. Doesn't matter because they still vote for the negative assholes like Bush. nt

[Naturyl]

11. But do they really give a damn?

My guess is no.

[Spiffarino]

14. Hooray for our side!!

Isn't it great that McCain is seen as such a nasty guy?

NO

Americans love a scrapper. Sure, we'll tell you in polls how much we hate negative campaigns, but we are liars. If that weren't the truth, Al Gore would be a lame duck right about now. Democrats need to understand: Nice guys lose. Negative tactics work.

If Barack Obama wants to be president, he'd better get his skinny butt off the high road and get down in the mud with a lead pipe and a shitty disposition. If McSame kicks him in the shin Barack should kick him in the jimmies. If McSame brings a knife, Obama should bring an M1 tank.

Fuck nice. I'd rather win.