DES MOINES - Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama traded blows with new TV spots running in Iowa this week, and voters looking for some relief from negative ads probably won't get any in the six weeks before Election Day, observers say.

The new ad from the McCain camp questions Obama's personal ties to Chicago-area politicians and public figures and tries to paint Obama as a product of a corrupt political machine.

The ad calls attention to Obama's purchase of a home with the help of political fundraiser Tony Rezko, who was later indicted on corruption charges.

Obama's ad criticizes McCain for statements he's made on de-regulating banking and financial institutions and charges that McCain also wants to de-regulate the medical insurance industry.

The ad ends by calling McCain a "risk we just can't afford to take."

The timing of the new negative television spots is no coincidence, said former Iowa Democratic Party chairman and U.S. Rep. Dave Nagle.

Nagle said conventional campaign wisdom suggests candidates should step up their negative campaign tactics after Labor Day and the national party conventions, when a major portion of the electorate first tunes into the race.

"The reason you see them first and foremost is because they seem to work, which is a sad comment, but it's true," he said.

Nagle said the candidates are also timing the attacks to coincide with the financial crisis on Wall Street, in the hope that the ads could also cause voters to question their opponent's handle on the economy.

"I think the reason for the ads this week is they seek political advantage from the current economic crisis," he said. "But will we continue to see them? Absolutely, all the way through."

Nagle said negative ads take about four to seven days from the time they debut to make an impression with voters. So citizens can expect to see an increasing number of negative spots until early in the last week before the Nov. 4 election, he said.

Nagle said the ads won't sway partisan voters who have already made up their minds, but they target undecided independent voters.

Retired U.S. Army Reserve Maj. Gen. Evan "Curly" Hultman, chairman of Iowa Veterans for McCain, said the negative ads will continue to pile up as Election Day approaches.

"I think without any question they're going to increase, and I don't think that's in the best interest of our political atmosphere," said Hultman, a former Iowa attorney general and U.S. attorney.

He said the strongest evidence that the negative ads work is that the campaigns continue to spend time and money to produce them.

He said candidates have relied on negative campaign tactics for years, and this election has largely fallen in step with previous contests.

Contact Fred Love at

(515) 243-0138 or

fred.love@lee.net.