Attack Ads: Are They Working?

You've most likely seen the ads. "These negative ads, it literally makes me sick to my stomach," says Tim Murphy. Or, maybe not. "I never learn anything. They never answer my questions," says MaHattie Gillian.

But they are out there and it promises to get worse before it gets better. "It's hard to imagine where its going to take us." Dr. Martha Daughdrill is a sociology instructor at Faulkner State Community College. She says negative ads can be good and bad. "People remember negative things and in a way it's what they take when the go to the voting booth but at the same time it just turns them away from the process."

Students we spoke with say the candidates message is being lost in all the mudslinging. "If they downgrade each other like that then basically they don't have too much love for America," says Yusef Maisoned. "It is really frustrating to watch because I can't focus on their values and what they stand for," says Katie Glover.

For Tim Murphy it's even more serious. "If you have a neighbor and they were negative all the time would you really want to go visit them? You wouldn't and nobody wants to watch this stuff. It's demoralizing."

Millions of dollars have already been spent on negative campaign ads and election day is still more than nine months away.

Students say they would like to see more ads that concentrate on issues rather than attacking each other.