Editorial: Negative campaigning rubs voters the wrong way

The Republican National Convention is on the brink of wrapping up – kicking off the stretch run of 2008 campaigns, not just for the presidency, but also for various elected offices on state, national and municipal levels across the nation.

Local television channels haven’t yet been littered with campaign advertisements. After all budgets must be kept and campaign expenses must be rationed enough to last through the final week.

But they will soon.

Yard signs haven’t yet littered our street corners and intersections. Putting them out there requires a lot of manpower.

Give them time. They’ll be everywhere before we know it.

Campaign volunteers haven’t begun passing out literature at major sporting events.

Give them time. That’s about to happen too.

Wouldn’t it be refreshing this campaign season if commercials, signs and literature actually informed the voters about each candidate’s qualifications, record and promises instead of giving us load after load of dirt (whether it be completely accurate or not) on their opponents?

For too long, campaign advertisements have revealed too little about Candidate A, but instead have told voters the bad and the ugly of Candidate B. In doing so, this method of advertisement slaps the voters in the face.

Maybe so many candidates today don’t feel comfortable making promises that they choose to tear their opponent down.

After all, who wants to be held accountable in Washington?

But with accountability and integrity comes credibility. Is their any of that left?

Don’t talk about your opponent. Talk about yourself for a change.

What are you going to do about the economy?

What are you going to do about health care or education?

What are you going to do about employment and/or luring industry into the district?

What are you going to do about crime and courts?

What are you going to do about the environment or reliance on foreign oil?

Tell us what you are going to do to make America better.

Tell us what you are going to do to make Alabama better.

Anything else is wasting our time and insulting our intelligence. No wonder so many Americans have that “none of the above” feeling about politicians.

Maybe if campaigns were less about mudslinging and more candidate-specific, more people would turn out on election day.