Well, Florida ended up going exactly how anyone who has been following this dirty primary race would have anticipated.  Mitt Romney won and Gingrich is once again facing an uphill battle.  The final tally was Romney — 46 percent, Gingrich — 32 percent.

I call this a dirty race because that’s exactly what it is.  It’s been a lot of mudslinging and a little campaigning.  The Campaign Media Analysis Group reported that 92 percent of the campaign advertisements in Florida were negative ads targeting a candidate’s opponent.  I’m finding it difficult to determine whether the candidates are campaigning based on their platforms and ideologies, or whether they are campaigning on the platform that “I’m better than the other guy because he did such and such”.

Not only did Gingrich not give the customary congratulatory call after the Florida primary, but he wouldn’t even say Romney’s name afterwards.  Santorum even went out of his way to congratulate Romney on Tuesday night after pulling in a modest 13 percent of the votes.  He also took the time to point out how dirty the race in Florida was.

I think it’s great.  As far as I’m concerned, they should keep tearing at each other.  This reminds me of something I would see on Animal Planet, where two males would fight over territory.  In the end, there is always a winner, but the winner is usually banged up a bit from the battle.

While there has been no biting or scratching (yet), I believe that this kind of campaigning will ultimately hurt whichever candidate may win.  The citizens of the United States will have seen plenty of negative campaign ads for each candidate and that could deter some voters.  Also, the manner in which the campaigning has been conducted thus far could turn some voters off to the Republican Party.

I understand that every election has its fair share of trash talk and smearing of candidates’ character and reputation, but there’s not even a balance here.  For only 8 percent of the ads in Florida to not be attacking somebody is embarrassing for the individuals running the campaigns, and the GOP as a whole.

It seems like the candidates are either lacking confidence in their ideas or feel that they have to discredit the other candidates to have a chance.  I would respect them much more if they would run based on their principles and ideals rather than riding on the flaws of others.