Smears & Attack Ads

Last week's news reveals a lot about America's political parties.

Republicans felt the pressure from Cindy Sheehan's brave Crawford stand-off. They responded by closing ranks and trying to smear Sheehan as a lying traitor.

Democrats felt the pressure from critics of a NARAL Pro-Choice America ad attacking John Roberts. They responded by disagreeing in public and NARAL pulled the ad. (A DNC spokesperson emphasized the national party "would have done the ad differently," although the case it referenced raised "legitimate questions."

When politics get rough, the Republicans stick together and hypocritically turn up the heat. Too often, Democrats argue and worry that someone will get burned.

The Washington Post dissected this phenomenon on Saturday, asking whether the opposition has "lost its nerve." It only took Dana Milbank two sentences to get from NARAL's ad to the swift boat liars, and he summarized the shameful hypocrisy of "most Republicans" in responding to the ads:

Amid similar criticism against another controversial ad, most Republicans brushed aside demands to repudiate Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a group that had taken aim at John F. Kerry's war record. Some Democrats said the difference revealed on their side an ambivalence about modern political combat that helps explain why their party is out of power.

Of course, both parties should disavow misleading attack ads. If Republicans stopped smearing everyone who disagrees with them, America's political debates would be more meaningful. And if Democrats used strong tactics without backing down, America's political debates would be more balanced. Either change would be a huge improvement.