Strange Strategy

So it is all happening in America, and though on holiday for the bulk of the last couple of weeks it has been interesting to observe. I am still thinking about McCain's VP, and what I think about the choice, but noted one bit of news about the rival groups' advertising campaigns. Michigan is a key state, and one that is suffering from the economic downturn, so one would perhaps think they would want to hear positive messages about recovery. They probably do but they are not to be served any. Michigan Live reports that the McCain ad will focus on criticising Obama's opposition to offshore drilling; and in a similar vein Obama is showing McCain and Bush and criticising them for being out of touch when they say the fundamentals of the economy are strong.

There is perhaps nothing unusual about the fact that the ads of candidates will feature the opponent to a greater extent than the sponsor, it seems too common. It is founded on the belief that if you can raise doubt in an audience, expressing a doubt that the audience may already harbour, it will build that doubt and tarnish the image of the candidate under attack. The problem seems to me to be that the voters in the US are going to have significant doubts about all the candidates (Ps and VPs) by election time, some justified some maybe not, and in the end be led to seek the least worst team as opposed to the one that is best.