The changes were in response to requests from some governors, including Republicans, who wanted more flexibility. Administration officials say they are not letting states off the hook on the work requirement, and Clinton denounced the ad as false. A leading Republican welfare reform expert has said it is “implausible” to believe that Obama is trying to keep more people on welfare. Fact-checking outlets have declared the ad erroneous. Romney’s campaign has doubled down rather than walk away.
Negative ads have become one of the growth industries in an otherwise weak economy. How much is being spent? Romney’s campaign briefed reporters last Friday and included the following statistics. The amount spent on all advertising since early April in four key states is: Florida, $95 million; Ohio, $92 million, Virginia, $68 million; and North Carolina, $50 million.
News organizations instituted fact-checking and ad watches in reaction to earlier campaigns, when candidates were getting away with half-truths and worse, with little accountability. These have become robust and increasingly comprehensive. But they are not providing much of a check on the campaigns’ behavior.
The only check on the campaigns is the marketplace, said John Geer, a political science professor at Vanderbilt University. “If voters move against his attacks, [Obama] will move away from them,” he wrote in an e-mail response to a question. “But right now, the attacks are working on swing voters. The other 90 percent of the public are pretty much fixed in their preferences. They may be unhappy about [the ads], but they are not driving the marketplace.”
But there is no check on rhetoric. Romney and his advisers have been seething over the tactics of Obama’s campaign and its Democratic allies, including the Soptic ad and the president making what seemed like a joking reference Tuesday to an old story about Romney strapping his dog to the top of the family car during a vacation.
Obama and his team have their list of grievances about the claims and accusations made by Romney and his allies. They point to what they view as rhetoric questioning the president’s patriotism and American values — code, they believe, for a revival of birtherism.
This campaign will end in November. Then it will be either Obama’s or Romney’s responsibility to try to govern. Both sides have turned the contest into an all-or-nothing battle and hope to claim a mandate on the basis of the outcome. But it will take time and great effort for the winner to drain the poison from the system if the campaign continues on this course.
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