Because it's getting awfully deep in the spin zone also known as the Presidential campaign. Check out the article in the LA Times today about two non-partisan fact-checking organizations calling McCain's campaign on their recent, misleading advertisements.
Since I've been in the Hawaiian hinterlands (and having much technical difficulty), I've missed most of the brouhaha surrounding Obama's "lipstick on a pig" comment. I don't have audio on my pc (another technical glitch), so I haven't checked out the McCain web-ad that takes the comment out of context and, according to accounts, accuses Obama of calling Palin a pig. It sounds like I'm not missing much.
I am surprised that McCain would allow members of his campaign to go to these lengths to smear Obama, given what he endured at the Bush/Rove campaign's hands in 2000. McCain's reputation as a straight shooter and an "above politics as usual" maverick would seem to be at risk if he continues on this path.
The party faithful won't back away from him (or, it seems, from Palin) for lies, distortion and spin. But it just may be that independent voters will be turned off.
Which is why it's important for Obama to avoid a tit-for-tat retaliation of spin. He's already skated dangerously close to fabrications of his own (as noted in the LA Times article).
There are ways to use your opponents verbal missteps to highlight their weaknesses without twisting their words. For example, McCain's tongue in cheek statement that if you make over $5 million, you're rich.
Instead of saying McCain literally thinks $5 million is the demarkation between rich and middle-class, Obama could say, "I know my opponent was making a joke when he said $5 million dollars in income is the definition of rich. But what does McCain's bad joke tell us about his mindset? We're in an economy where average Americans are struggling with high gas prices, dwindling job security and a mortgage mess of enormous proportions. And John McCain would rather joke about what makes someone wealthy than come to the table with real tax relief for average folks.
This is a man who had to check on the number of houses he owned..."
That's the type of argument that carries weight...that convinces people rather than just being sound and fury, signifying nothing.
Some days I wish there really was a spin-free zone.
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