Team Obama's vicious lies

Yesterday I commented on Team Obama's use of the name "Romney Hood" to mock Mitt Romney's economic proposals. While Obama relied on a single, dubious report to mischaracterize Romney's policies, the attempt to taint the plan by branding it in such a way was a sharp move from a marketing/propaganda perspective. I felt that, should the label stick, it could do some real damage, and I suggested that, ironically, Obama's own ineptitude might be Romney's strongest ally in making sure it didn't.

Well, only a day later and I'm proven right, though not in the way I thought I would be. Absolutely no one is talking about "Romney Hood" today, as Team Obama managed to steal it's own thunder by running what Business Insider calls "the most vicious ad of the 2012 campaign." This is a vile ad, that stops just short of accusing Mitt Romney of the murder of a steel worker's wife. But, as CNN points out, not only is the ad "outrageous," it's "inaccurate" as well.

Rather than walk through all the inaccuracies here, I recommend that you simply watch the ad, then check the timeline provided by Conservative Review:

• 1999 – Romney leaves Bain to run the 2002 Olympics (paid leave of absence)
• 2001 – GST goes bankrupt
• 2002 – Joe Soptic laid off (by Jonathan Lavine, an Obama bundler…not Mitt Romney), Soptic’s wife does not lose health insurance
• 2002 or 2003 – Joe Soptic’s wife laid off from her own job and loses her own health insurance
• 2006 – Soptic’s wife dies of lung cancer previously undiscovered because she refused to go to the doctor

I've been critical of Team Romney's tactics in past -- for example when they edited a clip of Obama quoting an aide of John McCain to give the impression that the words were actually Obama's. That was sleazy and dishonest, and is one reason why I'm not a fan of Mitt Romney.

But this new Obama ad is truly reprehensible. It's looking like it may blow up in his face, and every decent person should be hoping it does. They say elections have consequences. Well, vile and dishonest campaigning should have consequences too. If Americans don't start holding candidates responsible, then we get what we get.

Update [8/10/12]: It just gets worse:

One day after claiming the Obama campaign had no knowledge of the story of the man included in a  pro-Obama super PAC ad, spokeswoman Jen Psaki admitted the campaign had worked with him before.

A Romney spokesman said,

The Obama campaign has now admitted that it lied to the media and the American people in a disgraceful attempt to conceal their connection to this shameful smear. Americans deserve better – they deserve a president who’s willing to run an honest campaign and be honest about his own record.

That sounds spot on.