Negative Political Advertisements

Today someone mentioned to me that negative leaning political ads should be illegal because they threaten the credibility of a certain candidate and don't really shore up why one should vote for a particular candidate.

Now, I can understand his point about how the ads don't actually express reason or support for a political candidate and instead only show why one should not vote for a different candidate but we also must remember that negative ads can highlight problems that have existed with a candidates history that we wouldn't otherwise be aware of. In my honest opinion, reasons not to vote for someone are just as strong as reasons TO vote for someone. Negative ads tend to target specific bills or actions which mean far more than simple promises given by that candidate and can give one an idea of what to expect.

Should they be the sole reason you vote for/against a candidate? No. Should they be used in conjunction with positive advertisements about another certain candidate? Absolutely. Should you vote Ron Paul? You betcha!

An example of a quality negative ad is this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Aohgrn1peA&feature=g-all-u&context=G21d1061FAAAAAAAAAAA

Yeah Buddy.