In 2012 the election between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama was, like most other elections, full of campaign ads bashing the opposing candidate. The campaign ads that were not sponsored by the candidates I felt are the hardest to stomach as an open minded individual. The ads seem to try and strike fear by suggesting that if a particular candidate is elected than it will come with certain repercussions. The message is usually (sometimes not) centered around a fact of statistic or excerpt from a speech and twisting that into digs at the candidate.
These ads don't educate people on the ideologies of the candidates and their plans for the economy and society as a whole, but instead plant a seed into minds of viewers to make them afraid, hate, or distrust the candidate. Citizens should be informed voters when arriving at the polls, not filling in the boxes in spite of a certain person. Advertisers want to push certain buttons that will enrage you into striking down the opposition with your vote. Shouldn't we vote logically and not with our emotions?
In reality, these ad campaigns do exactly what they set out to do; persuade voters to lean a certain way because they are afraid to live in a society where a particular candidate is running the show. It may seem moral to avoid ads that defame the other candidate, but in a race to be the leader in the free world, you wouldn't win a campaign without these advertisements. It's turned into an arms race at this point; make more and better negative advertisements about the other side so that you turn out on top. Plus, the candidates can't always control what these interest groups do to express their views.
