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Originally Posted by Rasczak  You're the one that called McCain's comments a smear. I asked you if McCain's comments are true, are they still a smear? What is vague about that? The comments can't be a smear and not be a smear at the same time can they? Its very specific, not vague at all, if the particular words of McCain that you called a smear are factual, are they a smear? |
Saying something negative usually doesn't qualify as a 'smear' in my mind if it is true. But, what you aren't getting is that for your yes/no question ("Is it factual?") to be valid depends entirely on the validity of the original statement, in terms of it being a quantitative statement. Prime example is stating someone has been "palling around with such-and-such". That is not a quantifiable thing to say about someone. It's a play to the media and people's common ability to subconciously take tiny sound bites and turn them into pseudo-facts in their own minds. For further examples, would it be fair to say the USA has been "palling around with" terrorists and dictators like Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein? After all, there was a time when they had close affiliations. To my mind "palling around with" suggests something recreational - a choice of friends (not to mention something even vaguely recent).
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Originally Posted by Rasczak Have you ever heard the left say anything about George W. Bush that was a smear? If so, what? |
Putting aside the fact that nobody even needs to bother 'smearing' GWB - he makes a fool of himself on a daily basis and even seems to wear that as a badge of honour at time. Putting that aside, no, nothing springs to mind - feel free to enlighten me. If you provide an example, I'll give you my opinion on whether it seems to qualify as a "smear".
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Originally Posted by Rasczak Have any Obama/Biden supporters said anything about McCain or Palin you would characterize as a smear? How about the ad attacking McCain about email that Obama approved which Biden called "terrible." |
Believe it or not, we don't get the US TV or print ads here in Australia, so I'm not familiar with the ad you refer to. I have seen reference to them using the fact that McCain's knowledge of computers/google is practically non-existent, as an indicator that he is somewhat out of touch with the modern world. That seems a valid point, though may have been done in a less than dignified manner (I don't know as I haven't seen it), which might perhaps be what Biden alluded to.
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Originally Posted by Rasczak You could just end this and admit you're applying a double standard - that anything damaging, true or not, said about Obama/Biden is a smear, and anything, regardless how nasty, untrue, or irrelevant, said about those you want to see defeated is ok with you. |
No, I'm not applying double standards at all - you are assuming again about my opinions, based on your categorizing me as a 'liberal' in your own worldview of 'two types of people'. I don't find 'smear' campaigning to be dignified from anyone, and I think I have said so here before. I'd prefer it if campaigning was kept factual, but I do acknowledge that like it or not, politics is a dirty, deceptive game, and the overwhelming majority of participants in it, play dirty. That doesn't make it dignified or at all impressive. What impresses me is the minority of players who remain above it - to me it shows a quality of character. That would impress me whatever the person's political persuasion might be. 'Smear' campaigning is not something exclusively used by conservative politicians and their campaigns - it just happens that that is the example at hand here. If you have other examples to mention, please do.