100 Days of Negative Ads, Costing $350 Million

[Commentary] Lately, the race for the White House has been an eruption of hard-hitting negative ads. If the current rate of attack ads continues, this election will have more than 100 uninterrupted days of negative ads with a potential cost of more than $350 million (and that is just from the candidates). By running these attack ads Sen Barack Obama (D-IL) could be treading on thin ice. His brand has been built on the idea of being a different kind of politician. Yet, time and time again we are reminded of the lessons learned in the 2004 "swift boat" debacle. The Obama campaign is in a tough spot. It must evaluate the potential cost to its brand of participating in a negative ad war vs. the damage of unanswered attacks. At this point, Sen John McCain has nothing to lose by going negative. However, he will likely need to come up with a second act.