Behind the disdain of the high-minded for negative campaign spots is a fear that they will erode Americans' faith in politics and government.

Public opinion results onwhat isappropriate and when thingshave been remarkably stable during the pasttwenty years.

We are in the midst of the eleventh presidential nominating cycle since party commissions and state laws made primaries the predominant method of choosing national convention delegates in 1972. Over the years politicians and journalists develop rules of thumb to describe how these things work. In this cycle, some of those rules seem to be changing.

If it weren't for the FEC's limitations on fundraising, Obama would be delighted to stay on the sidelines because his whole reelection strategy requires going on semi-hiatus from the presidency.

"We're not going to lose in New Hampshire." So says Mitt Romney's state coordinator Jason McBride. Whether that confidence is well founded may determine the fate of the candidate who has been the on-and-off front-runner in the race for the Republican presidential nomination.

The Supreme Court ruling in the Citizens United case will greatly impact the 2012 election. Candidates running in 2012 will now have the additional burden of campaigning against "independent" organizations running ads about them.

If some members of Congress and the Federal Communications Commission have their way, they will mandate free television for federal candidates.

Senator Harry Reid is trying to divide the electoral base of Sharron Angle, his Republican opponent, and to portray her as an extremist, but she can win by focusing on the right issues.