Santa Clara University

As we head into the final days before the November election, candidates, political parties, and special-interest groups are pouring more and more money into last-minute efforts to win voter's approval.

Good luck with that. While the barrage of negative ads may be getting positive attention from the outlets running the ads (this is a great source of revenue for radio and television), most viewers and listeners consider the final days of the campaign season the worst of all worlds.

Rather than focusing on a candidate's own vision and record, most closing ads will tear down the opponnent. This serves to "dirty up" not only those involved in a particular race, but these negative ads contribute  to voter apathy.

So while political pundits point out half-truths and outrigt lies, voters tune out and turn off amid the flurry of confusing and insulting ads.

It doesn't have to be this way. While some believe negative campaigning wins races, some of us hold on to the hope that candidates and their supporters will stand up to that assumption and set a new standard of ethical campaigning.

I'm in. Are you?