Iowa paves way for ad changes

 Presidential candidate Howard Dean woke up Monday, Jan. 14, with everything going his way.
According to all the polls, he was leading the field, and many political analysts and broadcasters were proclaiming he was destined to win the Democratic nomination for the presidency.
By the end of the day, he was not, however, a man destined to win anything.
Not only did Dean not win the Iowa Caucus, but also he came in third in a field of four.
Sen. John Kerry won Iowa, not by bashing his opponents and the president, but by promoting himself as a strong steady leader.
“I also have the experience to make America safer and stronger in the world during a very dangerous time, and I think people want a steady, tested hand at the helm of state. I can provide that,” he said.
Dean, who has won over campaign supporters and raised over $40 million in campaign funds, ran negative smear ads directed at his competitors as well as President Bush.
“It [voter reaction] says exactly what we’ve been saying in New Hampshire. That if you are going to run for president, you must have a positive message,” Gen. Wesley Clark said while campaigning for himself in New Hampshire.
Is it possible that Americans are finally tired of negative campaigns with no message except to destroy one’s enemies?
For years, politics has been more about smearing the opposition’s name and exaggerating their blunders than telling the public about the candidate’s platform.
Iowa is possibly a sign that times have changed.
In a poll of caucus-goers conducted for the Associated Press and the major TV networks, Kerry scored high with voters of all ages, sexes and political affiliations, which included independents.
People who identified themselves as both liberal and conservative leaned toward Kerry and his message in Iowa.
Seven out of 10 caucus-goers who said experience was the most important factor in determining a president backed Kerry.
Still, Dean is far from out of the race. Dick Gephardt won the Iowa Caucus in 1988, and he still did not receive the presidential nomination from the Democratic Party that year.
Gephardt did not, however, do so well this time. After finishing fourth in this year’s caucus, he was the first of the nine candidates to drop out of the election.
Dean may have learned a lesson though. Only hours after losing in Iowa, he was in New Hampshire rallying his supporters.
“I used to be the front-runner when I went out to Iowa, but I’m not the front runner anymore … We’ll not quit now or ever,” he shouted to his supporters.
We hope Iowa will be a catalyst for positive campaigning in the future.