Obama adviser: GOP damaging itself with negativism

[February 23, 2012]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- A political adviser to President Barack Obama says Republicans are damaging their chances of defeating him by engaging in "nasty, negative, carpet-bombing" debates.

Robert Gibbs says independent and undecided voters have been "turned off" by the Republican face-offs, saying the give-and-take among candidates is entirely too negative.

Gibbs tells CBS's "This Morning" Thursday that the GOP continues to dwell on social conservative subjects when "the emerging issue of this campaign is going to be strengthening this economy and putting people back to work."

The former White House press secretary, now an adviser to Obama's re-election campaign, says the Republican hopefuls are "offering very little in the way of a positive vision" for the country. He says Wednesday night's Arizona debate was full of "negative distortions" about policy positions and candidates.

[Associated Press]

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