It’s Out There

by digby

Dave Niewert does a nice job taking down the latest Obama smear from bottom feeder Floyd Brown. I notice that one of his commenters observes that they “no longer care if they have any credibility.”

I think it’s important to remember that they don’t care about “credibility” at least the way we think of it. This is about the death by a thousand cuts, not any particular story. They start with a few tales that acclimate people to the idea that the Democrat has something to hide. He’s not being forthcoming. Something’s not quite right. Over time it creates a general sense of discomfort with the person, eventually even on the part of those who know it isn’t true. (They resent the victim for making them have to deal with these things. It’s exhausting.)

If you believe that credibility ever mattered to bottom feeders like Floyd Brown, who’s been doing this ever since the Willie Horton ad 20 years ago, check out the story of The Clinton Chronicles. That one was so outrageous that it even included murder charges and drug running. Jerry Falwell participated in it and they sold it in churches across the country. Millions of people saw it and ordered it on Christian television.

Sure most people *knew* it was bullshit. But over time, if they spread enough of these tabloid stories, on some level, people start to wonder about the person, even if they know better. It is a powerful weapon and I don’t know what the hell to do about it. In our tabloid culture, it’s probably more likely to penetrate a broad swathe of the public more than anything else.

It doesn’t matter if it’s true or not. It’s out there. We analyze it and deconstruct it,ignore it and make fun of it and yet it never stops.

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