contini

I'm so sick of dirty political tactics, it makes me think "what politicians actually have a positive campaign?" It's a lot easier to list those who don't than those who do. Here are three that have really disappointed me:

1. Romney. Attack after attack, and still this guy is one of the most popular presidential prospects (I'm pretty sure I don't need to elaborate on this). Why do people support guys like this? He may be the dirtiest guy out there.

2. Hillary. Yes, Hillary. Her tactics are rather subtle, but the strategy is quite similar to the on Bush used in his two elections. The idea is repeat something enough until it sticks in peoples heads (similar to how the Bush campaign went after Gore with deceptive claims of Gore being dishonest -- and the mud eventually stuck). Hillary's repeated message is that Obama is inexperienced and not ready to run the country. Now, she is using bogus analogies to compare him to Bush: “He said he’d be a uniter, not a divider. He said he’d bring America together,” she said of Bush. “He didn’t need a lot of experience. He had this great intuition. He understood people. . . . Remember that?”

3. Edwards. I lost a lot of respect for him when he started throwing mud at Hillary, "right out of the Republican playbook" (to quote Hillary).

I really wish people would "tune out" when the politicians start throwing mud. No wonder why we have such a history of corruption in leadership: too many people listen to the mud slinging. Enough is enough!

leglace

I think McCain is the cleanest.

RYou

Smearing has been around since Boss Tweed. You just need to ignore the chaff.

I had assumed you were talking to the criminals in elected positions. Here in NJ, it's not what goes on during the campaign, it's the in the aftermath. In three years, US Attorney Chris Chritie has nailed over 110 legislators, mayors and councilmen for bribery. In most towns, the council is composed of elected volunteers, a non-paying position. In the larger cities, mayor and council are paid positions just like the legislators. It's those paid positions and appointments, career jobs, where these slugs are ripping off the public. The cities are democratic, so statistically the dems are the dominant culprits. A few repubs have been handcuffed also, but the numbers of caught with their hand in the pockets of contractors and service providers is just astounding.

leglace

NJ has to have to most corrupted poticians in the nation. I think Christie was the last "clean" polititician NJ had, and even she caved in to the insurance companies and help create that dumb insurance surcharge program.

matclone

Someone from Lousiana might argue otherwise.

Nader is the only clean politician I know of on a national level.

Certainly McCain has taken on the issue of campaign finance--even if imperfectly. Wow, a candidate who actually deals with tough issues (immigration being another), instead of merely talking tough about them. Romney appears to be the establishment candidate for Republicans, and he'll do a makeover each week to do whatever it takes to get elected. Clinton is the establishment candidate for the Democrats.