McCain goes negative as Obama lead grows

The Hill, Leading the News-

John McCain has devoted his entire television budget to negative attacks on Barack Obama to keep his rival from pulling away in the polls, according to a study.

Sen. Obama (D-Ill.) spent just under $17.5 million on TV advertising between Sept. 28 and Oct. 4 while Sen. McCain (Ariz.) and the Republican National Committee (RNC) together spent less than $11 million, according to an analysis by the University of Wisconsin Advertising Project.

The study found that nearly 100 percent of McCain’s ads were “negative,” compared to only 34 percent of Obama’s TV spots. So far this election cycle, 73 percent of McCain’s ads and 61 percent of Obama’s ads have been considered negative by the Wisconsin study.
Obama’s recent surge in the polls has coincided with his campaign outspending McCain significantly in battleground states.

In the last few weeks, the race has shifted to areas of the country President Bush won four years ago.

“Ten of the 15 states where both candidates are advertising were won by Bush in the 2004 election,” said Ken Goldstein, professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of the Wisconsin Advertising Project.