Negative Campaigning and the Morning After

Barack Obama ran for president on, among other things, a promise to move the country beyond the partisan rancor of the Bush and Clinton years. Already observers are watching his every move to see if he will deliver on this promise. Obama has a difficult needle to thread because he not only has promised a less hyper-partisan approach than we have seen in recent years, but has also run on a progressive platform with regards to a range of issues including foreign policy, economic policy and the environment. Obama's challenge is to deliver on progressive policies while not creating a nasty political environment. In some respects this is the mirror image of the Clinton years where we had a nasty, partisan political environment, to which both parties contributed, but no genuinely progressive leadership from the White House.

Conservative commentators have been tempering their new found enthusiasm for an African American president with warnings of the need for Obama to be bipartisan and inclusive. The silence of these same people on this issue when George W. Bush was first elected in 2000 notwithstanding, there is something to these claims. The tasks that lie ahead for Obama are sufficiently daunting that he will benefit greatly by support and goodwill from both sides of the aisle. My sense is that Obama has the political savvy, judgment and political skills to achieve this goal, but it will not be easy.

If we are serious about moving the US into a post-partisan, or at least a less partisan, phase, it is neither fair, reasonable nor wise to place all the burden of doing this on the president-elect. We will not cast partisan rancor aside simply because a Democratic president appoints a few Republicans to high offices or even because that president brings a different tone to Washington.

One important component to reducing the aggressively partisan climate of American politics is to hold politicians, and others, accountable for their often hyperbolically divisive rhetoric and attempts to question the integrity and patriotism of their opponents. Politicians would be a lot less likely to use defamatory, vicious and untrue attacks if they knew they would be held accountable for what they said during the heat of campaigns. For example, John McCain's concession speech was certainly gracious, but perhaps we should pause a second from congratulating the senator from Arizona for the class he exhibited in conceding defeat to ask him about what he said during the campaign.

Imagine asking John McCain the following question "Senator McCain, during the campaign you repeatedly implied and said that President-elect Obama is a socialist. Given that beginning next year the president of the US will be a socialist, do you intend to support a guerrilla movement to restore capitalism in the US, accept that the US is now a socialist country or did you just lie about that to get elected?" The victors, of course, need to be held accountable as well, so a question for President-elect Obama might be "Do you really think that a surge like strategy in Afghanistan will help the US fight global Jihad, or did you just say that to make yourself look tougher to the electorate?"

On one hand, this is taking "gotcha" journalism to an absurd level, but it is also an effort to rein in the claims, accusations and semi-truths which have come to dominate our campaigns. Candidates know that due to the healthy and almost natural urge for both winners and losers to be gracious and put the election behind them, the worst excesses of campaigns will be quickly forgotten, or at the very least, politicians know they will not be confronted about these things once the campaign is over. Thus, a decent and unifying impulse in the political class becomes a factor which enables the negative and divisive tones of our political campaigns.

While it certainly is important to put hard fought political campaigns behind us and move on to the even harder work of governance, putting the campaign behind us too quickly means that there are no consequences or disincentives for the often deeply troubling excesses of the campaign. It also suggests that months of angry rhetoric seeking to tap into the ugliest sentiments of the American electorate which we saw on display at Republican rallies in October, should be forgotten simply because of a nice concession speech. While very few people would actually enjoy watching John McCain squirm when being asked about why he didn't pause to reflect when a man he held in as high esteem as John Lewis criticized the racially divisive nature of the Republican campaign, it might give pause to other politicians before dragging their campaigns, and the national political dialog into the gutter.

Again, my goal is not to run salt into what are undoubtedly some painful wounds for John McCain and the Republican Party, nor to approach this in a partisan way, but to recognize that the almost anything goes nature of our political campaigns have a significant influence on our political culture more broadly and to create some ways of holding all politicians responsible for what they do in the heat of a campaign.

Comments

[HST]

I think if we all just hold hands and sing Kumbya the GOP will reach across the aisle and work with us as fellow Americans (never mind the fact they called us unpatriotic, terrorist sympathizers, leftist commie pinkos, sociialist family-hating baby- murders) . If you think Lindsey, Mitch, Larry,Ted and David are going to work with the dems they have have a bridge to nowhere to sell you.

[RumiSouth]

Remember, remember,
On Fifth of November,
Mudslinging and derision.
I see no reason
Why catcalls of "Treason"
Should ever be forgiven.

Joe Plumber and Palin, t'was their decision
To raise a cry of "Socialism!"
Three-score stories of ACORN on Faux
To call Obama's election a hoax;
Through Wright and Ayers, Barack was curs'd
As unpatriotic and liberal first.

House of Reps, Senators, majority Dems.
When elephants holler, just ignore them!

A simple fact, to Murdoch's News,
Is an item sure to choke them.
Never shout O'Reilly down,
Just turn away, ignore him.
Burn them with irrelevance.
Publicize their decadence.
"Bush," the word for how they've led.
That way will GOP be dead.

http://www.osborneink.com

[PATina]

In addition..­. I'd like to say that any chance at a post (or less) partisan government has a lot to do with us. It is frightening the way many of the comments here are just hateful and spiteful rhetoric towards the "other' side... many devoid of anything resembling logic. To quote our President-­Elect...

"I am convinced that whenver we exaggerate or demonize, oversimplify or overstate our case, we lose."

We should be able to engage and rationally discuss the issues we have w/ each other. No one has a monopoly on good ideas (or bad ones for that matter).

[HST]

The GOP MO always call for "bipartisanship" after you have lost. We can expect them to obstruct at every turn while crying about girdlock.

The GOP: putting the same 'ol in the same 'ol since before the dawn of time.

[SteveDenver]

There are too many people who make their living being divisive and playing to idiots who will believe unfounded negative comments. McCain sacrificed his integrity and we'll see if he can restore it, but he is already grumbling about Iraq and the economy in a negative tone and offering no constructive input.

As for Obama, he's gathering some great minds with which to tackle the issues; and I don't see him gathering idealogues to prop up an agenda.

Let the pundits and critics peck away at his efforts, I think he has more support than detractors.

Right now I'm enjoying telling critics at my level to shut up with their constant negative speculation. He won the election and my support.

[aramos]

We'll see if Obama's change mantra holds up to Washington politcal partisanship. If it doesn't it will be another long 4 years.....

[Krikkit]

When I watched John McCain's concession speech my first thought was "Thank God he decided to go negative during the campaign!" because if he had taken THAT tone before the election, the Republicans up and down the ticket might have retained power to the detriment of us all.

Post partisan sentiments be damned. The GOP has to change or lose legitimacy. They have done so much damage to this country and they will continue to do as much damage as possible unless they change.

Do I believe in forgiving and moving on? Definitely. But ONLY if the offenders see the error of their ways and do everything in their power to make amends. Just saying it is in the good of the country to just be nice and make friends is naively dangerous.

[berrycooda]

Hey people...i­t's over....Se­n. Obama won....so time to quit fueling the fire and let it go.

I personally think Pres-Elect Obama will attempt to be bi-partisan.
After he gets deeper into the problems in the White House, I foresee him moving
closer to the middle.
He will be in a position to see how much influence and stop progress a "partisan congress"
has had on the country.
Hopefully, things will change for the better when he sits in a different seat
than the one he sat in when he was a Senator.

[katinpuyallup]

My favorites are the ones who called Obama a Socialist, a Marxist, the most liberal senator in Congress, who, now claim that Pesident-elect Obama is center left and that the American people are center right.
Look, people, we knew what we were doing when we put him into office. We knew what we were doing when we elected a Democratic Congress. Get it?

[EasyCheese]

I dunno...i think most people voted against Republicans, not for the Democrats.­...because they are "responsible" (kind of)...for where we are now

[JMBrodie]

Hey, folks voted against Nixon in 1960. That stuff is less important than what the person does once s/he is on the job.

[lakat]

Saying you approve of a surge in Afghanistan when you may not, is not equal to sliming your opponent and calling him a socialist, or a friend of terrorists. Or saying that he is anti-America and unpatriotic. It's just not the same thing at all. McCain built his entire campaign on what Obama was or was not, making up stuff as he went along. Obama's campaign was almost entirely about what he would do as president. That is why he won.

Also, some of the things Obama has said he will do or might do was before he was receiving daily briefings. It is acceptable that he alter his course due to receiving new information.

[Krikkit]

Changing one's opinion on the basis of new information is a sign of intelligence and mental health. However, there are political considerations, not the least of which is giving fodder to an opposition that wants to see your head on a platter. If the information that made you change your mind is classified, you have a difficult path to sell a change of course in the political world.

[kellygrrrl]

I'm sure McCain will NEVER admit this - but I bet he wishes he had never gone in 06 to kiss the ring of Falwell and sell his soul

[Snowball]

What is a democracy without partisanship? The very reason we have elections is to give the people a choice between competing ideologies. The problem is not partisanship, it is smearing your opposition's character and patriotism, using dirty tricks to win elections and manipulate public opinion. We can have political disagreement without dirty politics.

[chicagogal11]

Agree,
the problem isn't the partisanship but the Republicans way of conducting partisanship and proclaming that if you don't agree with them then you are anti-American.
Especially the Evangelical republicans who determined that only Christians were Americans and non- Christians were un American.
I hope they keep up their stupidity because their tent is so small now that they have kicked out minorities, non Christians, gays and women they will only need a pup tent for their supporters.

[Emlyn]

Are Evangelical republicans Americans? They don't act like it.

[kellygrrrl]

partisanship is NOT the problem
hateful divisive judgmental exclusion IS the problem

questioning others patriotism or Christianity is reprehensible
and certainly not a good way to build a coalition

[ChelseaC]

I agree with Lincoln Mitchell.

[BelGazou]

Obama needs to make good on the mandate that he received from the American people. Bush made similar conciliatory statements after his first election and proceeded to ride rough-shod over the law and more moderate voices in his race to drive this nation over the abyss. The Republican neanderthals are no longer force in the legislature, thank God. Haven't the neocons done quite enough damage? We can now move forward and away from these 19th century robber barons.

[ElBruce]

There seem to be a lot of Republicans who during the election were very vocal about being "terribly concerned" that Obama might be connected to terrorists and that he might secretly seek to institute a hard-left Marxist agenda. Stalin has been mentioned.

Those same Republicans are now congratulating Obama on his historic win and offering to work with him.

Were they lying then, or are they lying now? Either way, it's not Obama they're insulting, it's their own constituents. This is not a no-harm no-foul situation. "Sorry folks, I bet everything on you being morons, but it turns out you weren't, so let's move on." The fact remains that you during the campaign, you thought your constituents were morons. You cynically exploited their valid concerns and values in the hopes of attracting votes, by telling them things you knew to be untrue. The fact that you feel no need to address this new change in rhetoric means you STILL think they're morons and won't notice.

Except they're not morons. If they didn't fall for the campaign rhetoric then, they aren't going to fall for you pretending it never happened now.

[Snowball]

They're lying now. You can rest assured that Republicans will do everything in their power to prevent Obama from having a successful first term. They're already promising to block his judicial nominations and insisting that he has to govern from the "center" right.

[chicagogal11]

I don't think the Republican party can help themselves.
First the dirty tricks of Nixon and Liddy etc.
Then.. Lee Atwater and his vile campaigning to Karl Rove and his lies.

I think things got out of hand with Reagan and his posturing that if you weren't a republican than it meant you were anti-American. Also, Reagan stepped over the boundries of church and state which eventually led to the Repubicans getting involved in the personal lives of US citizens trying to tell us how to live, worship and yes even die (Terri Schivo).

The Republican party is out dated, out of step and and endangered species.
I hope they disappear by way of the dinosaurs- oh wait they don't believe in dinosaurs.