That’s essentially what Romney is doing. If he hits Obama too hard, before the debates, he risks creating a sympathetic person out of Obama, giving him an upperhand.
Then Romney will just look small minded and mean with any further carpet bombing.
However, if Romney can make Obama look like a fool onstage, then properly placed commercials will deliver the coup de grace.
Oh bs, a negative ad can be done right, and it’s needed to push Obama’s negatives up.