Political fact-checking operations have proliferated over the last several campaigns. The Annenberg Public Policy Center launched the original FactCheck.org. The St. Petersburg Times’ PolitiFact won a Pulitzer for famously calling out politicians’ pants when they were on fire. And The Washington Post just launched a new and permanent Fact Checker column. Collectively, they have debunked death panels, vicious lies about light bulbs and birtherism. But there’s a problem with the whole concept. “The danger of print fact checking is that we have to describe what it is that’s ... Read More
How Negative Campaigning Can Fall Flat
February 17, 2010 • By • Leave a Comment
It's beginning to look like 2004 all over again. While Bush versus Kerry may feel like a lifetime ago, that infamously polarized election might be better suited to forecast the 2010 midterms than the anomaly that was the 2008 campaign. As officials and hacks dash back to entrenched positions, it's party platforms, not individual personalities, that are again increasingly important to voters. Just like 2004, voters this year should expect a hard-fought, hot button issue-oriented battle between the faceless DNC and RNC establishments. ("Hope" and "Change" R.I.P. — for now). As in every ... Read More
