Thursday, February 05, 2004

Clean Up: A writer for the group, factcheck.org, has come to the conclusion that the "Stand By Your Ad" portion of the McCain-Feingold law has reduced political attacks that you usually see in negative ads. While far from getting rid of attack ads altogether, this primary season seems to bring fewer than normal. And the attacks are even milder. All because the law requires candidates to appear on the screen and mutter, "I approved this message," now candidates are reluctant to sling mud for fear of getting caught with dirty hands.

But the article states that independent groups are not affected by the law and can still produce crass, deceitful, hateful ads. I still argue that these attacks are ineffective. But maybe this campaign-finance-reform law will tame slightly what could otherwise be a nasty battle in a very close election.

FYI: Factcheck.org is a nonpartisan organization that double-checks politicians' ads and speeches to reveal when somebody is lying and distorting the truth. From what I've seen, the group seems to do a good job.