The Challenge for Obama

After watching the GOP National Convention sink to depths not often seen in terms of fact distortion, the Democrats have been placed in an extremely difficult position, making their impending convention quite interesting.

Now, we all know that politicians are notorious for stretching the truth, being vague, or presenting creative interpretations. That is pretty much a given regardless of party. It is a sad but unfortunate truth in an attempt to (usually successfully) persuade ignorant voters. With all that in mind, the Republicans sunk to new lows this past week.

Let's take Paul Ryan. Now, I am staunchly opposed to his politics but in general, his reputation is pretty good in terms of being more or less honest (again, relative to politicians).  And yet, we saw Ryan flat out lie about the plant closing in Janesville, about his key role in the Debt Ceiling Commission, and join in the GOP distortion of the "you didn't build it" statement by the President.

We saw Romney flat out lie about the Republicans efforts to work with Obama and (brace yourself) actually wanted him to succee, when the record clearly shows that they opposed Obama from day one. We saw him greatly distort the numbers about college graduates and their ability to find jobs. We saw him lie about Obama raising taxes on the middle class when in fact we are still under the Bush tax cuts (and believe me, the GOP would have opposed any tax raise with staunch vigor).

You get the point.  Let's just say when the national media, known for understanding the way politics works, starts throwing out the "Lyin Ryan" tagline or when Fox news of all places notes Ryan's lies, we know we have sunk to new depths.

Strangely enough, it isn't the lies that has me most interested, but rather, the question of what approach the Dems will take during their convetion. On one hand, you might expect a "fight fire with fire" approach. While I am sure they will take some liberties with the facts and distort some issues, will they stoop to the flat out lying category? Will they get into a public spat about trying to set the record straight?

Before you answer yes, here is the problem. Swing voters have no stomach for what they perceive to be dirty politics. This will be an election of turnout. Republicans themselves have been quite honest about the fact that if this is an election of bases, they will win. If many of the unlikely/new voters turn out (like in '08), they will lose.  If the swing voters get disgusted by the process, they simply don't show up, leaving the Republican base with the edge. (This goes back to all the attempts to restrict the vote....all part of the plan).

So, this leaves Obama and the Dems in a really tough spot. Do they get down in the gutter, or do they take the high road and let the negativity work (and history shows that it does). The answer is somewhere in between, but it must be done VERY carefully and VERY skillfully. There is no doubt that they will try to get a little dirty, but it cannot come across as being dirty, and that is not easy.

This all goes back to Karl Rove, who was a genius in many ways and figured out long ago how to play this game better than anyone in my political history, a game that the GOP have taken to a new level this year.

And before anyone thinks that this rhetoric was simply Convention fodder, just wait until the unlimited super-PAC money starts throwing out their ridiculous advertisements.