Following Mitt Romney’s minor breakdown yesterday, in which he complained bitterly about President Obama not being nice enough to him, there were all kinds of media analyses today on the 2012 race reaching a “poisonous” level. Ben Smith speculated today on how the campaign “got so mean.”
What these pieces overlook is any consideration of whether the candidates’ attacks and counter-attacks are accurate. The media establishment seems to care a great deal about whether the major-party candidates and their respective teams embrace provocative rhetoric, but spent almost no time whatsoever examining whether the campaigns are being honest.
Apparently, there’s a difference between deceiving the public and being “mean.”
Alec MacGillis was in Ohio yesterday, covering Romney’s remarks in Beallsville, where he spoke in front of a group of coal miners. The Republican spoke at length about one of this new favorite subjects: President Obama’s non-existent decision to “take the work requirement out of welfare.” MacGillis talked to several members of the all-white audience who said that was their favorite part of Romney’s speech.
Yes, one of the more depressing parts of the job of being a political reporter is watching an audience fully absorb a blatant and knowing lie. […]









