Putting aside positive and negative for the moment -
because they can give blood that anyone could recieve
If you didnt know someones blood group but needed to give them a transfusion you could give them "O"
Alternatively, the "universal recipient" is AB because they could recieve either a, b, o or ab blood and suffer no ill effects
Note that group O whole blood (in the plasma) contains naturally-occuring antibodies to A, B, and AB cells, therefore in theory at least, transfusing large amounts of group O whole blood is not a good idea. However, whole blood is not used (ever?) nowadays, rather blood components such as packed red cells, fresh frozen plasma, etc.