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2 Reasons Presidential Campaigns Can't Hide Negative Ads

By Michael Catalini // July 2, 2012 | 7:30 a.m.

President Obama and Mitt Romney will have a harder time running under-the-radar ads on TV this cycle compared to previous presidential contenders, writes my colleague, Alex Roarty, in this week's National Journal magazine

The reason?

There are two, Roarty writes. One is "social media. It's so easy these days for people to instantly tell the world that they've seen an attack ad.

"Two, Virginia. The Old Dominion is arguably this election's quintessential swing state and is in line for tens of millions of dollars in over-the-air spending. The problem for campaigns is that some of those ads air in the Washington media market, home of the national press corps," he writes.

So let's recap: Video killed the radio star, and social media is killing stealthy political AND Virginia is for Attack Ads (hat tip to our crack squad of headline writers for making the Virginia is for xxx connection).