http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/10/virginia_gop_mailer_appears_to.phpIn the race's final stretch, much of the real sludge and slime that floats to the surface will be the work not of the campaigns but of under-the-radar operations run by state parties and the like.
Here, for instance, is a new mailer from the Republican Party of Virginia that has to be seen to be believed. It hits Dems -- and by extension, Obama -- for wanting to appease terrorists and rogue leaders.
But the key is the last page, which displays a man who looks like Obama but with the same dark and sinister aspect as the bad actors depicted elsewhere in the mailing. Note the words superimposed over his face
How about those eyes, huh? Here's the rest:
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We asked Virginia spokesperson Gerry Scimeca whether the likeness to Obama was in fact the Illinois Senator, and he said he couldn't immediately say. Asked to defend the mailer, he said: "It's about the fact that the world is evil," he said, referring to the multiple bad actors that populate the planet. "Choosing a president is about standing up to them."
To our eyes, the ambiguity over whether the image is that of Obama is alone telling. Meanwhile, Raising Kaine has the lowdown on the mailer's multiple distortions.