by Emily McCord
As the Presidential campaign races towards the finish, the tone from both parties has become increasingly negative. Of course, Ohioans are feeling the full force as a battleground state. A recent report showed that last week, the candidates both spent more money on television ads in Ohio than any other state, a whopping total nearing four million dollars. The study also shows that 100% of the ads run by Senator John McCain were negative, compared to 34% of Senator Barack Obama’s ads.
Both campaigns have also been spending lots of time in the Miami Valley this week. Obama’s speech in Dayton on Thursday was strikingly more aggressive than in past visits. He criticized McCain’s behavior regarding the economy as “erratic” and “unsteady”. Vice Presidential hopeful Sarah Palin also wasted no time in laying out her attack during her visit in Wilmington, where she focused on Obama’s connection with former member of The Weather Underground, Bill Ayers.
But some experts say that the attack ads will take a back seat to the economy, which many Americans say is the most critical issue facing the nation today. In Ohio, this rings especially true. Continued job loss in the manufacturing sector has been hard on the state, and many are looking for the next President to fix their economic woes.
A media analysis group says that for campaigns, political ads are still their weapon of choice and that particularly with negative ads, eventually the repetition alone causes their message to stay in the minds of voters. With both candidates focusing their resources and time in Ohio, it’s clear that, to some extent, they believe that, too.
