Quote of the Day

Bowdoin professor and Maine political consultant Christian Potholm:

There is nothing wrong with pointing out where your opponent differs from you on an issue. Otherwise, incumbents (who don't like "negative campaigning") would always be reelected! You simply have to contrast your positions with those of your opponent or the people won't support you over him or her.

This is particularly true in a close race where you and your opponent have already gotten all the votes you are going to get on your personalities and being nice people...

Campaigns in Maine have always had elements of negativity in them...By 1994, however, [the negative 30-second TV commercial] was a staple on the campaign trail...

But neither [then-gubernatorial candidate Angus] King nor his many friends...ever wanted him to use this tactic...

I found this aspect of the campaign very frustrating...Here everybody, especially the candidate, had worked so hard and so long and King was so close to victory. But to prevail, he had to go negative to achieve that goal and he wouldn't...

Finally in order to get the candidate to adopt specific ads, the staff and media consultant finally agreed to call them "contrast ads" instead of "negative ads." I'm sure Dan Payne still uses this fine phrase invented for the King campaign.

I remain convinced to this day that if King had gone negative earlier, or with more force, he would have won by an even bigger margin. Certainly, without going "negative" at the end, King would not have won.

From Potholm's 2003 book The Splendid Game: Maine Campaigns and Elections, 1940-2002.