Politico Equates Obama Attacks with Romney Self-Defense

Politico is on the warpath for the “high-minded campaign.” At least that’s what they’d have you think; their lead piece tonight is “Death of the high-minded campaign,” lamenting the supposed lack of decorum of both the Barack Obama campaign and the Mitt Romney campaign.

There’s only one problem: equating the two campaigns is egregious propaganda on behalf of Obama.

The fact is this: the Obama campaign has been despicable, nasty, and false. The Romney campaign, which is now fighting back, ought to be fighting mad about it. But when the Romney campaign evidences any passion or anger, Politico’s there to quash it, citing civility. Just check out this pathetically biased coverage:

The elevated presidential campaign of ideas, fleetingly achieved after months of mudslinging, died Tuesday.

It was three days old … by Tuesday evening, it was clear the 2012 campaign has resumed its regularly scheduled attacks — and even intensified them.

Politico then cites the following attacks:

• From Vice President Joe Biden: “They gonna put ya’ll back in chains.”
• From Mitt Romney: “Mr. President, take your campaign of division and anger and hate back to Chicago and let us get about rebuilding and reuniting America.”
• From Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt: Romney is “unhinged.”
• From Obama: Romney put a dog on the roof of his car.
• From Romney: Biden’s comments on coal, in which he said that coal caused more deaths than terrorism, showed his lack of vision for the country.
• The Obama campaign has called Romney a felon and a murderer.

You may be noticing a pattern: Romney’s campaign is responding to the repulsive vitriol of the Obama campaign by calling them out on promoting “division, anger, and hate.” The Obama campaign is calling Romney an incipient slaver, an insane person, a criminal, and a killer. These are not equivalent. Romney attacks Obama on his coal policy; Obama attacks Romney on having a dog on his car roof decades ago. These are not equivalent.

But according to Politico, BenSmithing as always, they are. All campaign rhetoric is equivalent. If Obama says that Romney eats babies, and Romney gets mad and calls that hateful, according to Politico, they’ve both lowered the standard of political discourse.

In truth, it’s Politico that lowers the standard of political discourse with their open pandering to the Obama campaign, and their equation of truly vulgar and vile campaigning with perfectly rational responses to such drek.