Thursday, September 18, 2008

HORSERACE

Attacking Your Opponent Usually Works

The Palin bump was destined to end sometime, and with Rasmussen showing the race now tied, the bounce appears to have run its course. But I would note another factor — in just about every appearance [except for 9/11] Obama and Biden have been on the attack. (This isn't a complaint, just a statement of fact.)

Yet the attacking tone is not, so far, dramatically affecting how people feel about Obama. From the CBS poll that shows Obama ahead, 48-43:

Voters' opinions of the candidates have changed little since last week, and both hold similar favorable/unfavorable ratings. (Obama's favorable stands at 45 percent and his unfavorable at 35 percent; McCain's favorable is 44 percent and his unfavorable 37 percent.)

Usually, going negative carries a cost for a candidate. So far, Obama has avoided paying that price.

UPDATE: When 77 percent of your ads are negative, as Obama's were last week, that's going to have an impact. Only 56 pecent of McCain's ads are negative by comparison.

09/18 10:02 AMShare