Ezra Klein On the GST Ad

May 23rd, 2012

Ezra Klein:

Politics ain’t beanbag, as the saying goes. Romney spends much of his time on the campaign trail lying about and misrepresenting Obama’s record. He says Obama “went around the world and apologized for America,” which isn’t true. He says Obama is “ending Medicare as we know it,” which is laughable. He says “we’re inches away from no longer having a free economy,” which is risible. So it’s hard for me to get particularly exercised over the Obama campaign running heartwrenching ads over people who lost their jobs because of decisions the company Mitt Romney actually ran actually made.

True. Except the proper response is not “his opponent’s been saying some unfair things, so no foul.” The right response is—making shit up about your opponents is wrong no matter who does it. Especially when one of those candidates promised a new era in Washington, and when that candidate has had nearly a full-term in office.