But they conceded that Mr. Gore has forced them into being far more negative than they had planned.
While neither party in Congress gets high marks, the public is far more negative toward Republican lawmakers.
"There are other floods that are far more negative than water," Mr. Kent said on a recent evening, as he sat in his backyard watching trains chug by.
The jobless rate now is almost exactly where it was in the summer of 1996, when Bill Clinton was cruising to re-election, but the public's view of the job picture today is far more negative.
And among those advertisers and agencies describing themselves as "greatly" or "somewhat" affected by the economy, there were far more negative responses than among those describing themselves as "slightly" or "not at all" affected.
With 19 different questions in the government document, there were few firm policy positions but the examples and tone were "far more negative than positive" said one BBC insider, who noted that the data used was about size rather than quality, reach or audience appreciation.
The problem has also featured in classified reports tracking progress in the war effort, most of which are far more negative than the public declarations of progress, said an American officer, who asked not to be identified because he was discussing secret information.
Most importantly, the synergy function ΔTGTO is far more negative for Stockholm.
The half-wave potentials of the prewaves are far more negative than those of the diffusion-controlled waves.
