I find your front page quote "Negative ads appear to help incumbent firm up his Democratic base and win over independents" to be very sad indeed ("In poll, O'Malley opens 14-point lead over Ehrlich in governor's race," Oct. 24). If negative ads are what are swaying Democrats and independents, then I would not want to be either. What happened to researching candidates on their merits and not letting the press dictate our thoughts?

Diane Butler