In Ads, It's a Campaign Smackdown (washingtonpost.com)

"The last few election cycles have been tame compared to what we're seeing this year," said Darrell M. West, a Brown University professor and author of a book on political advertising. "There are more negative ads and more misleading or exaggerated ones than in past years."

Candidates in the midterm elections have been accused of letting killers go free, destroying the Brazilian rain forest, unleashing dioxin, laying off workers, scaring seniors, allowing assault weapons, not hunting enough, using a barnyard epithet and being weird enough for "The X-Files."

Republican win with negative ads. Negative ads reduce turnout which helps Republicans. Is it any wonder this is some of the most negative campaigning in history?