Maybe T.O. campaign tactics can maintain a positive tone

The first of several forums featuring City Council candidates was presented last week in Thousand Oaks. Nobody made a fatal blunder and the candidates treated one another with respect. Maybe the local political campaigns can stay that way--at least we hope so.

Perhaps our local election can hit a standard higher than those at the state or national level. It seems that office seekers spend less and less time talking about the good things they'll do for us and more and more time talking about the competence of their opponents.

Television, it seems, is the favored medium for mudslinging. Stations are broadcasting a glut of malicious attack ads aimed at several ballot measures.

Almost all TV political commercials are hit pieces.

You either attack the other side, or you attack the other side for attacking you.

Nobody seems to talk about the positives, only the negatives. And certainly not the issues.

Will negative campaigning ever reach a saturation point? Is it possible the public will finally say, "Enough is enough?"

Probably not. Pollsters have found that voters listen to and are swayed by negative campaigning. As much as we hate to admit it, mudslinging works. Winning candidates define their opponents (negatively, of course) before the opponents can even define themselves.

When the dust clears, many voters go to the polls only to pick the lesser of two evils. We aren't voting for candidates who inspire us, we're voting for whoever will do the least damage.

It's a sad state of affairs. And, it cripples voter turnout.

There's only one complimentary thing that can be said for the way we conduct election campaigns in America: We wouldn't trade it for any other system in the world.

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