When he was a senator, Barack Obama decried negative election campaigning. Now, he has been harshly criticised over an advertisement about his challenger for the presidency Mitt Romney.

The advertisement features an attack on Romney's role at Bain Capital, a business he founded that invested in companies, then stripped some of them of their assets, costing jobs.

Newark Mayor Cory Brooker, one of Obama's closest allies, called the advert "nauseating", a statement that he later retracted after pressure from the Obama camp.

Washington correspondent Jonny Dymond reports on President Obama's negative campaigning.

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