Gutter Politics

My hope is that Gloria Allred's attack on Meg Whitman came to soon. In politics timing is everything. A strong GOP response to an obviously fraudulent setup issue and lazy trash politics may produce a swing away from the Dems. George Stephanapolous should not be the sustained focus because that would in the narrow window before the election hurt the GOP but he should lose credibility over this and become the object of steady attacks as a party operative partisan hack. Every member of the GOP in every appearance should insert a condemnation of him.

Two years ago the Democrats could do anything no matter how vile without fear that their candidate would be held responsible. Now the public looks back at things like Obama Girl and the personal attacks on Palin's family and consider how they were manipulated. This leads to them feeling shame and given the quality of the government it resulted in they are angry.

The patent unfairness of this attack in the California Governor race now allows voters to respond with disgust and at least emotionally correct the record. This is a bad year to engage in vile personal attack politics or embarrassing juvenile stunts. The public that once ignored such things, because they had been told not to be judgmental or that it was uncool to adhere to unhip old fashioned values and appearances, now responds by saying yeccch and moving to the slandered party.

In NY Carl Paladino may have erred by questioning Andrew Cuomo's fidelity or he may gain support as a father reacting to a threat to drag his child into the campaign. The NY Post's Fred Dicker tried to trap Paladino into being focused on his opponents personal life but was himself trapped when the candidate responded with righteous anger at the threat to his child. The reporter should not allow himself to become the story. The reporter should have stopped as soon as he heard the words "My 10 year old daughter ..." and issued a stiff apology for any impropriety to be investigated, and then asked again if Paladino had any proof of his charges regarding Cuomo.

My belief is that Cuomo should be subject to steady attacks over his role at Clinton's HUD in the corruption that lead to the mortgage crisis and the subsequent collapse of the American economy. His reputation for being personally abusive and engaging in vindictive politics should also be brought out. Cuomo can be called New York's Rahm Emanuel.