# Bush campaign running most negative campaign in recent history? Why? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 31, 2004, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-campaign-running-most-negative-campaign-in-recent-history-why/247925 "2004-05-31T15:28:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![pervert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbe5ce/32.png) [@pervert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pervert)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2004, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-campaign-running-most-negative-campaign-in-recent-history-why/247925/41 "2004-06-02T02:20:05Z")
There might be severe problems trying to compare the content of two websites by looking at the pictures and not anything else. ---
**Author:** ![cheddarsnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cheddarsnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheddarsnax)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2004, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-campaign-running-most-negative-campaign-in-recent-history-why/247925/42 "2004-06-02T02:54:27Z")
How many pages are on each website? Let’s compare percentages! Does the Kerry search look at blog comments? How many comments? Let’s analyze it! ---
**Author:** ![quixotic78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3ab097/32.png) [@quixotic78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quixotic78)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2004, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-campaign-running-most-negative-campaign-in-recent-history-why/247925/43 "2004-06-02T10:39:40Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > I dunno, but Google indexes [3,630 hits for “Kerry” on www.georgewbush.com](http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=%22Kerry%22+site%3Ageorgewbush.com&btnG=Search&meta=) and [10,600 hits for “Bush” on www.johnkerry.com](http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&q=%22Bush%22+site%3Ajohnkerry.com&btnG=Search&meta=). I’m not exactly sure if there’s a way to measure the size of a website, but take some of these other Google searches: Bush’s site has 1580 hits for “Iraq,” whereas Kerry’s site gives 9990 for “Iraq.” Bush’s site has 2370 hits for “America,” whereas Kerry’s site gives 11,500 for “America.” Bush’s site has 6760 hits for “Bush,” whereas Kerry’s site gives 17,000 hits for “Kerry.” Bush’s site has 6450 hits for “President,” whereas Kerry’s site gives 16,400 hits for “President.” So it just seems to me that Kerry’s website is far more extensive than Bush’s, hence, it’s not necessarily surprising to find that Kerry mentions Bush more than Bush mentions Kerry. In terms of sheer numbers, at least. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2004, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-campaign-running-most-negative-campaign-in-recent-history-why/247925/44 "2004-06-02T11:04:46Z")
> [@Apos](#): > > The biggest graphic on the page, front and top left, is “Kerry on Iraq: Track Kerry’s shifting positions on Iraq.” That wasn’t there when I clicked it. The biggest graphic was a picture of Bush in the Rose Garden. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2004, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-campaign-running-most-negative-campaign-in-recent-history-why/247925/45 "2004-06-02T15:11:37Z")
blowero: > [@](#): > > Interesting how you give Bush a pass for calling someone a “major league asshole” under the same circumstances, but when Kerry does it, it’s all of a sudden a big issue. As I recall, that insult from Bush was about a reporter (Clymer?), not about his opponent. Insulting a reporter is not exactly an invitation of negative retaliation by opponent. Insulting the opponent himself pretty much does invite similar insults in retaliation. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2004, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-campaign-running-most-negative-campaign-in-recent-history-why/247925/46 "2004-06-02T17:21:29Z")
> [@](#): > > That wasn’t there when I clicked it. The biggest graphic was a picture of Bush in the Rose Garden. Apparently, they’ve changed which one of the three tabs shows us when you open the page. Two are big anti-Kerry graphics, one is the Rose Garden shot. > [@](#): > > As I recall, that insult from Bush was about a reporter (Clymer?), not about his opponent. Insulting a reporter is not exactly an invitation of negative retaliation by opponent. Insulting the opponent himself pretty much does invite similar insults in retaliation. Except Kerry wasn’t insulting Bush, he was insulting the local Republican party. Given that they had just had a hand in floating a phony story about him sleeping with an intern, I’m not sure I blame him for being pissed off. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bush-campaign-running-most-negative-campaign-in-recent-history-why/247925.md?page=2)