An Ad For You, An Ad For Me

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Political advertisements. They’re everywhere. And, chances are, they’re both negative and a bunch of nonsense. A quick search on the internet will tell you that much. But analysts say these kinds of ads “work.” Regardless of if they work or not, are they a good idea or a bad idea?

Right in the middle of the news, or your favorite TV show, there they go. Ads that tell you either who to vote for, or who to vote against. And they usually look like this:

Obama ad: "...but John McCain refused to support loans for the auto makers..."

McCain ad: "...Obama's one accomplishment? Legislation to teach comprehensive sex education to kindergarteners."

Obama ad: "In Washington, John McCain helped pave the way for foreign-owned DHL to take over an American shipping company. McCain's campaign manager was lead lobbyist for the deal."

McCain ad: "Obama and his liberal Congressional allies want a massive government, billions in spending increases, wasteful pork. And, we would pay -- painful income taxes, skyrocketing taxes on life savings, electricity and home heating oil."

So, even if they work in getting the candidate elected, what's the verdict? Bad Idea

You're darn right. Shame on these two for going to the lengths they have to distort, mislead and, in a couple cases, outright lie.

I'm not talking about your typical politician lie like, "I think your baby is cute let me kiss it," we're talking about pathetic, mean spirited lies in some cases.

Let's look at the examples I just played. McCain did support loans for auto companies, Obama never supported comprehensive sex ed for kindergarteners, McCain did what he did on the DHL deal because it was an earmark, and Obama's tax cuts will actually be bigger than McCain's for those of us making less than $200 grand.

On the whole, whenever you see a claim that sounds just too incredible, it's probably not. And there's a number of sources you can check online to see what is and what isn't.

My personal favorite is FactCheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.

Politifact.com is another good one run by the St. Petersburg Times and Congressional Quarterly.

Finally, the Washington Post has their own fact checker, and you can get there by clicking here.

And always remember, he's Barack Obama, and he's John McCain, and they approve their messages.

And I'm Justin Metzger, and I don't approve either of your messages unless they're true.

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