Myopic

Fuming about attack ads and the unfairness of it all? So, apparently is the WaPo. Tim Graham highlights their descriptions as a "Carnival of Ugly":

Yikes, at this time of year, the liberal, partisan bias in the Washington Post is so constant and overwhelming it's the proverbial trying to drink water out of an open fire hydrant. But start with this: they're totally tap-dancing on the DNC talking point du jour with Michael Grunwald's front-pager today on negative ads. With great authority, the Washington Post-Democrat (as my not-related pal Michael Graham accurately calls it) summarizes it's a festival of Republican ugliness:

The result has been a carnival of ugly, especially on the GOP side, where operatives are trying to counter what polls show is a hostile political environment by casting opponents as fatally flawed characters. The National Republican Campaign Committee is spending more than 90 percent of its advertising budget on negative ads, according to GOP operatives, and the rest of the party seems to be following suit. A few examples of the "character issues" taking center stage two weeks before Election Day:

After listing a pile of Republican ads (and the article starts with an attack on Democrat Rep. Ron Kind in my old southwestern Wisconsin district, who hasn't had a competitive race in years), Grunwald does acknowledge a few examples of Democratic nastiness. I'm not saying that some of these ads don't sound awful, and sound like they may backfire. But in every cycle, the liberal-Democrat media labors to leave the impression that Republicans are nastier — because that's just the way Democrats feel. And what helps them win votes.

Two words for Mr. Grunwald: Mark. Foley.

Say what you will about his behavior, no one has defended it and he was shoved out the House door as soon as all went public. The fact that people sat on that information--for months--is example of a certain type of nastiness and political hatchetry that Mr. Grunwald would do right not to ignore.

I, however, will not be holding my breath.