Watching the political race in both Canada and the US is a sad thing.
All the parties basically try to put each other down. They go way back in history and try to dig up any dirt that can be thrown around… mudslinging. This happens all the time but is heightened during the campaigns.
Over the short-term a scandal or negative campaigning can have the desired effect of making you seem better than your opponent, supposing you are actually cleaner. Hey, they are much worse than me!
Have you ever noticed that in a mud fight, everyone gets covered in mud!
At the end of the day, the voters tend to have a jaded sense of politicians and politics in general and voter apathy is high. Even if things were cleaned up tomorrow, it would take years to get back the trust.
The same things happen when vendors try to win business by putting their competitors down. The customers just end up wanting nothing to do with any of them and the overall market shrinks. This totally negates any money you've thrown at marketing and generally puts a bad spin on your entire industry.
Lets face it. Some healthy competition is actually good for your business in most cases. It gives your business legitimacy and you split the costs of educating the marketplace on why they need your service or product.
Sure you want your business to stand out, but mudslinging just makes everything grey at best.
