[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2008/images/08/08/art.split.omc.gi.jpg caption="Political attack ad season has begun.]
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
I don't know about you, but I'm tired of them already.
Barack Obama is the biggest celebrity in the world, mocks a John McCain television ad that features Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. Barack Obama can part the Red Sea, mocks a John McCain ad that compares the Democrat to Charlton Heston in The Ten Commandments.
Hillary Clinton says John McCain is well-qualified to be president while Barack Obama gave a speech in 2002. A particularly nasty McCain ad featuring Clinton's own words from the primary campaign. And McCain promised he was going to run an "honorable" campaign.
Here it is only the beginning of August and political television commercials are becoming an infestation. Want to get away from them and watch the Olympics? Forget it. Obama has bought $5 million worth of ads to run in the Olympics and McCain has bought $6 million.
Next come the conventions, and then both sides will get serious. Unfortunately there is no limit on the amount of punishment candidates can inflict on us in this country. Other places have restrictions on the amount of time and money that can be spent campaigning, but not here. When you add in all the commercials that will soon begin to appear for senators and congressmen as well as all the local races and you get the picture. It's going to get ugly out there.
Here’s my question to you: Are political TV ads informative or annoying?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Tony from Waipahu, Hawaii writes:
They are annoying. If they were required to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, they could be informative. I don't believe any of the commercials. They are, after all, politicians.
David from Orlando writes:
Show me an ad that explains in detail what a candidate will do when in office instead of only how bad his opponent is and I will vote for that guy. So the answer is annoying.
Chris writes:
They're both, Jack. We get informed about how low the competition will go in order to smear their way into office, which is also annoying to people who actually care about politics.
P. from Rhode Island writes:
Jack, That would depend on whose ads you are referring to. McCain's political ads are childish, annoying, misleading and an insult to the average person's intelligence, to say the least. Obama's political ads are informative, enlightening, "above the fray" and straight to the point. You can obviously tell which one is getting more and more desperate.
Ann from Bethesda, Maryland writes:
I don't mind the positive ads, sometimes they are inspiring. I hate the negative ads, they're completely annoying.
Lucas writes:
Annoying? God forbid Americans are made to think about voting for anything other than American Idol when they're parked in front of the TV. Bring on the thinking!
Omar writes:
Not only are they annoying, they're a great way to deceive the American public. I don't think I've ever seen a political ad from either side that isn't complete b.s. They're good for nothing and I think they should be outlawed.
Tom from Wisconsin writes:
The ads as of late are proof positive that neither man is anywhere close to being qualified to be the president the country needs. But, they are certainly capable of being a Bush replacement.
Don from Baltimore writes:
Annoying. Political ads are the reason the mute button was invented.