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The Genesis Of 'Negative Blogging'

More thoughts on "negative blogging" from Matt Lewis at Townhall.com. The news peg for his entry is the attacks against Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee by rival Mitt Romney.

Unlike ever before, candidates on both sides are utilizing bloggers and surrogates to spread their message. ... But while campaigns use the new media to spread their positive message, the medium is perhaps even better at advancing a negative narrative.

I can personally attest to the fact that all the major Republican campaigns, from time to time, leak negative stories to bloggers. I suspect this is true of the other side, too. Why do bloggers often bite? Sometimes because they already like the candidate, but often it's because it's a win/win: The campaign gets an attack without their fingerprints on it, and the blogger gets some juicy information that (hopefully) nobody else in the world has.

And Romney's team has clearly been at the top of their game, cultivating some of the best bloggers in the nation to help advance their message.

A Romney spokesman told Lewis the campaign isn't afraid to show a sharp distinction between the candidates.

Posted by Danny | 07:14 AM

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