With that in mind, this primary has been considerably dirtier and more vicious than it should have been. It’s one thing to go after Barack Obama, but trying to win brutal negative campaigns against your fellow Republicans in a presidential primary is a loser’s game. Maybe, just maybe, you could make a case for it if the race had ended early, but clearly, this fight isn’t going to be over in a week or two. If the sort of vicious attacks we’re seeing from ALL the campaigns and the Super PACs that are supporting them don’t stop, the eventual winner will be considerably weaker versus Barack Obama. We’re already seeing a lot of hard feelings, lingering resentments, and entrenched negative opinions and if these scorched earth campaigns continue on for another few months, it may simply create too much bad will for ANYONE to defeat Barack Obama.

So, with that in mind, I have a simple request: Tone it down. Stop blasting your opponents, quit going for the throat against each other during debates, and make it clear publicly that you want all the Super PACs working on your behalf to stop running negative ads. Granted, you can’t communicate with Super Pacs, but if they know you genuinely want them to stop running negative ads, they will do it. After all, they’re doing this to help your campaign and curry your favor if you win. Make it clear that you don’t want negative ads run and they will respond. Granted, you can’t control your supporters or the media, but they’re only following the tone set by your campaigns. If you go positive, you’ll see most of your supporters slowly, but surely start to follow.