Not one detail can be left to chance. Pesquera, who has faced stinging satire because he sometimes has trouble enunciating words, addressed that issue head on in one recent ad in which he tackled that perceived weakness, Rigau said. While Pesquera will show up in public with ruffled hair and sweat-soaked clothes, no such images are ever publicized of Calderon, who invariably appears well groomed. The opposition has tried to mar Pesquera's image by attempting to tie him to the charges of corruption that have ailed NPP officials. His followers, meanwhile, have painted Calderon as a leader who waffles and takes contradictory positions.
Most observers say no.
In fact, analysts say negative campaigning can actually backfire. That can have a backlash. In the end, people try to validate the image that they get in those short spots with what they see in reality. Negative campaigning is nothing new to Puerto Rico. When Hernandez Colon and former NPP Gov. Carlos Romero Barcelo ran against each other, there was not much else, said Davila.