Email observation

From my email box:

"The usual determinants of election results are which candidate is hated the most or which candidate is the most distrusted."

There is a shred of truth to this. It explains why there is so much money and effort spent on negative advertising and smear campaigning.

George H.W. Bush was very successful at this in 1988 with Willie Horton. And the Swiftboat Liars succeeded with the smear in 2004.

Unfortunately, many of the same people that decry partisan rancor and the poison political atmosphere are the same hypocrites that acknowledge and practice the smears and negativity.