Political Campaigning (Thursday, April 6, 4th period)
"You've been watching political ads and have spent a few months learning about your candidates. Today we talk about going negative." He gave them a smirk. "Or, as I prefer to think about it--the hard positive. You're not necessarily telling the voters that your opponent hates his mother and kicks puppies in his spare time--though if he does and you've got tape of it, for the love of God, use it--you're just telling them things about him that he'd rather you not mention."
He clasped his hands together. "Going negative can include everything from bad votes to extramarital affairs. And the voters say that they hate that kind of thing." He raised an eyebrow. "Polling data indicates otherwise. Eventually, yeah, your numbers will take a hit because you're being mean or whatever. But in the short term it does some serious damage to your opponent."
He walked around the room. "So the question becomes when do you go negative? Do you wait for them to start it, then strike back? Do you wait for them to start it and then have a press conference deploring their lack of propriety and whatever?"
He waved his hands at the class. "Or will you be one of those campaigns that never goes negative and then gets its ass kicked? Discuss."
He clasped his hands together. "Going negative can include everything from bad votes to extramarital affairs. And the voters say that they hate that kind of thing." He raised an eyebrow. "Polling data indicates otherwise. Eventually, yeah, your numbers will take a hit because you're being mean or whatever. But in the short term it does some serious damage to your opponent."
He walked around the room. "So the question becomes when do you go negative? Do you wait for them to start it, then strike back? Do you wait for them to start it and then have a press conference deploring their lack of propriety and whatever?"
He waved his hands at the class. "Or will you be one of those campaigns that never goes negative and then gets its ass kicked? Discuss."