Negative advertising’s impact is strong; the remedy’s in research

Elizabeth Kilbride
Opinions Editor

Jeremy W. Peters recently wrote an article for the New York Times headlined “92% of Ads in Florida Were Negative.” Exhibit A was an ad by the pro-Romney Super PAC Restore Our Future, although I’m not sure this is a corner of YouTube you want to visit. Jane Mayer also wrote about negative advertising in an article about Larry McCarthy, who helps direct Restore Our Future, in The New Yorker; the article was called “Mitt Romney’s Attack Dog.”

Newt Gingrich: It’s time for you to go.

Steffi Badanes
Blogs Editor

I am surprised that Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich has stayed in the race for this long. Since our May 25 2011 post, Looking ahead at 2012: Newt Gingrich, Gingrich has certainly proven me wrong and has actually managed to launch his campaign. Gingrich has managed to avoid the bottom of the polls, coming in 4th place in the Iowa Caucus with 13% of the vote, and 4th place again in the New Hampshire primary with 9% of the vote. But there is still a lot that will keep Newt Gingrich from getting the Republican nomination. Like I said in our previous post, coming out against Congressman Paul Ryan’s plan to slash Medicare spending lost Gingrich the support of extreme conservatives. His patriotic affair and three marriages haven’t helped his image either.