What, me worry?
Would Republicans even be concerned about harsh rhetoric if they weren't getting as good as they give?
Worries About Campaign's Tone Are Voiced on Both Sides
By NAT IVES
The harsh tone of the presidential campaign is threatening to alienate voters and undermine the perceived legitimacy of the winner, prominent members of both parties said today.
Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, appearing on "Fox News Sunday," said that the ferocity of the attacks flying between Mr. Bush and his rival, Senator John Kerry, could hold down voter turnout on Election Day.
"Already I'm hearing from people here that are saying, `Look, I'm not even going to vote if this is the way the campaign is going to be conducted,' " Mr. McCain said.
Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut and a former candidate for the presidential nomination, said on "Fox News Sunday," "The nation is almost evenly divided politically, and there are strategists in both parties who are urging both candidates to go for victory by whipping up into a frenzy the partisan ideological base of both parties."
The worries on both sides follow a rancorous week marking the first anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. Vice President Dick Cheney and television commercials for Mr. Bush repeatedly called Mr. Kerry a security threat if elected. Mr. Kerry, meanwhile, described the current foreign policy as "arrogant" and said the president had left United States troops bogged down in Iraq "with the target squarely on their backs."
Another prominent Republican, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, said today that a divisive campaign could also hurt United States efforts abroad.
"Kerry and Bush must conduct themselves in a way that when Nov. 2 comes, whoever wins, they are going to have to have legitimacy and the authority to govern this country and keep this coalition together for another four years," Mr. Hagel said on the ABC News program "This Week."
