Back in 1988, George Bush ran a devastating TV ad against Mike Dukakis. The ad accused then governor Dukakis of paroling/pardoning/letting off the hook, an ugly con named Willy Horton who proceeded to commit some ghastly crime while out of stir. The ad was effective, and Dukakis made the mistake of not replying to it. Silence gives assent. Dukakis should have said something. He could have denied that it happened, that it was all the parole board's fault, it didn't happen on his watch, it was a terrible mistake what has been corrected, whatever. Instead he said nothing in public and the ad sank in. Voters expect mud to be thrown in an election. But they also expect the victims to fight back. The mud doesn't stick if the target denies it. If the target says nothing after being slimed, the voters begin to think there must be something to the charge.
The Clintons have thrown a bit of mud at Obama, and Obama has very properly denied the charges and politely accused the Clintons of lying. Obama remembers Willy Horton and remembers that silence gives assent.
The newsies are delighted, and have instant replayed the mud slinging to the point of nausea among us political junkies. (only true political junkies bother to watch) And pontificated about how terrible it is and how the candidates are pulling the campaign down to unspeakable issues like race and sex.
Malarkey. This is a spirited, and largely positive campaign that has galvanized the electorate.
Just look at the primary turnout figures.
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