When senior Obama campaign advisor Stephanie Cutter told the media she was unaware of the details of the false and misleading story retired steelworker Joe Soptic told in the now infamous Priorities USA super PAC ad — she lied. Period. End of story. We have her on tape just a few months ago thanking Soptic for telling the exact same story on a Obama campaign conference call.

Moreover, when Obama campaign advisor Robert Gibbs and press spokesman Jen Psaki also claimed ignorance about the details of Soptic’s story, that also stretched what we have since learned is the truth. 

Obama’s had a pretty great six weeks. He’s pulling away from Romney in the polls and, other than a few days of “you didn’t build that,” Team Obama has kept Romney on defense by smothering him in nonsense and outright lies. Tactically, Obama is running a brilliant and effective campaign, no question about it.

There’s also no question in my mind that the releasing of an ad that blames Romney for the death of Mr. Soptic’s wife was meant to be yet another act of audacity from Team Obama, meant to distract from the economy, smother Romney’s message, and keep him on defense.

In that respect, the ad was brilliant.

But being caught lying risks something that the Obama campaign and his media allies are desperate to avoid, and that’s putting Obama on defense and dinging the favorability ratings that have kept him in the lead despite his failed record.

Knowing this — knowing how damaging a narrative surrounding top Obama campaign officials being caught red-handed lying could be — the media has downplayed this scandal as best they could… starting with Politico.

Because leftists have no shame, yesterday, the very same Politico that played a key role in covering up the kind of lies the Romney campaign would’ve been beaten to death with, published this via Dylan Byers:

Press Goes Light On Psaki’s Conflicting Claims

President Barack Obama’s traveling press corps failed to press spokeswoman Jen Psaki today on contradictory statements she made this week regarding the campaign’s knowledge of details about former steelworker Joe Soptic, who appears in a controversial Priorities USA ad.  …

In the reporters’ defense, this was the last and final question of the gaggle. But it seemed a remarkably light line of inquiry given that, as of this report, Psaki has failed to clarify how the campaign “[didn’t] have any knowledge of the story of the family” when it used it for their own ad and conference call just three months prior. One obvious question would be: “How is it possible to not have ‘any knowledge’ of Soptic’s story three months after he appeared in an Obama campaign commercial and on an Obama campaign conference call?”

Well, gee, Byers, don’t act all whipped and defeated. There’s still time to follow up with these kinds of questions. There’s still time to make a stink and demand better answers and to hold people’s feet to the fire and demand accountability for being lied to. What’s with the puppy dog circle of helplessness act?

And that’s what it is — an act. Politico’s CHOSEN not press this matter and thinks a mild protest about some pool reporter washes everyone’s hands. It’s a silly act that allows Politico to pretend they’re on record protesting how the media handled this and that an opportunity was lost for Politico and the rest of the media to get to the bottom of it.

If you look around the media landscape today, after being looked in the eye and brazenly lied to by some of Obama’s top people, the media’s already moved on.

Move along.

Nothing to see here.

When it comes to the Obama campaign, left-wing media outlets like Politico would prefer to be lied to than to have accountability for that lie in any way damage Their Precious One.

For not answering enough of their questions, the media will heckle and taunt Romney on sanctified ground. But Obama can treat them like punks and they just bend over for more.

 

Follow  John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC