I have a quick rant I need to get off my chest.
I'm afraid that the community here is underestimating the Romney campaign. Based on the current front-page diaries -- mocking Romney for whining, panicking and resorting to calling Obama a liar - it seems to me that many are missing the fact that Romney is actually engaging in some reasonable strategy.
Here are my thoughts (and frankly, I'd love it if someone demonstrated that I am wrong and worried about nothing).
(1) Romney's unfounded accusations that Obama is lying seems like a pretty effective way of disarming both Democrats and the media from effectively (and justifiably) pointing out that it is Romney who is engaged in a pattern of deceit.
To put it differently, Romney's preemptive assault on Obama's credibility appears designed to lead the press, and eventually the voters, to throw up their arms in disgust at both sides. And the result benefits Romney for two reasons. First, attention from Romney's own lies will be diverted. And second, the "pox on both your houses" strategy plays into Romney's greater theme that people should be disappointed because Obama did not single-handedly transform the culture of Washington.
(2) Similarly, Romney's Medicare attack also may neutralize the effort of the Obama campaign to exploit the inherent weakness of the Romney/Ryan voucher plan.
Again, when you have both sides yelling that the other guy is the liar, the public may well get disgusted and tune them both out, which is precisely what Romney is hoping.
(3) Moreover, Romney may be turning this campaign into a referendum on Obamacare.
We can debate the meaning of the 2010 elections, but I think you'd agree that there is at least a reasonable argument that a contributing factor to our losses was the public's perception of Obamacare.
I could go on, but my main point is that I don't think that Romney is simply whining or reacting on some emotional level. I believe everything he is doing is quite calculated, and actually a plausible strategy (given his limited set of choices). Simply put, those guys are not just lying, they are quite good at it. And they know that Dems are bad at defending Obamacare and the media is even worse at ascertaining what is or is not the truth.
Please tell me that I am wrong (and thanks for letting me rant).