Nicely done. Despite Monty Davenport’s recent attacks on L.J. Bryant’s plans for the Land Commissioner’s office, Bryant does not use the commercial to mention Davenport or try to directly rebut his attacks. Rather, it’s a solid message of “I finished in first on May 18, I am going to provide money to schools without raising taxes, I’m not going to take money from lobbyists, and look at what these media outlets have to say about me.” Davenport is not even mentioned, which I think was the right move here.
This lack of mention by Bryant gives me a nice segue to something I’ve noticed this political season. Namely, the commercials that stay positive and don’t mention the opponent at all seem … well … better than the ads that do. I am not the type that thinks negative campaigning is always a bad idea; I completely believe that it can work when done correctly both in terms of timing as well as message. That said, the candidates who have picked up on the “anti-business-as-usual” vibe that underpins many of the voting decisions in 2010 seem to have carried that idea to their commercials as well. No one wants to hear politicians bickering this year, and no voter wants to spend thirty seconds listening to one candidate complain about another rather than offering something substantive of his or her own.