But the negative commercials are the ones being talked about, she said.

"What bothers me about the race is the negative commercials," he said.

The negative commercials seem to be working, at least to some degree.

But so far, no negative commercials have been aired in the Democratic contest.

"They've run 10,800 negative commercials about me," he said, the figure obviously held at the ready in his memory.

Indeed, probably the most famous negative political commercial was shown only once.

Expect to see a plethora of negative commercials like this one in the 2012 campaign.

This is an effort to reduce the reliance on 30-second negative commercials.

But, although people generally say they abhor them, negative commercials have been effective.

Despite their world of difference, the two candidates agree on several issues, and, more interesting, are conducting a civil campaign without negative commercials.