Hooray for Cory Booker, the Newark NJ Mayor, a Democrat, who criticized the tenor of the anti Romney (Bain) attack ad strategy. In speaking his mind, last week on TV, he got into hot water with the democratic faithful, but has opened up the discussion that might engage the big middle. The WSJ editorial last week:
Mr. Booker uttered his apostasy on NBC's "Meet the Press," calling out both Presidential campaigns for what he called a "nauseating" focus on side issues. He deplored attacks on President Obama for his long-ago association with the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, but he added that "I have to just say, from a very personal level, I'm not about to sit here and indict private equity. . . . Especially that I know I live in a state where pension funds, unions and other people are investing in companies like Bain Capital. If you look at the totality of Bain Capital's record, they've done a lot to support businesses, to grow businesses."
was forced into a bit of pretzel prose to praise Booker's 'apostasy' while trying not to condemn all attack ads.
The Obama campaign's attacks on Bain haven't gone very well, in part because the claims are so transparently cynical. Everyone knows they're cherry-picking facts, focusing on the rare Bain Capital failures while ignoring the successes—all in order to distract attention from the failed results of Mr. Obama's economic policies. Presidents who have to take their own party allies to the woodshed for the offense of telling the truth don't tend to win re-election.
Any thoughtful reader can see the parallels between what WSJ observes as "cherry-picking facts" can be applied to either side. When WSJ opens the door to critical thinking by party faithful, who knows where it may lead? Let us hope more voices begin to ask questions about the Emperor's clothes, call out the Boy who cries wolf, castigate those chicken littles and pull the mask off the Lone Ranger.
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