Greenwald On One-Way Character Attacks

From the wicked smart, Glenn Greenwald:

Every four years, the GOP unleashes unrestrained personality attacks on Democrats and exploits cultural resentments. Every four years, Democrats tell themselves that such attacks don't work and are counter-productive. And every four years, that belief is disproven. These "character" issues end up mattering largely because Democrats, in election after election, allow wars over "character" to be waged in a largely one-sided fashion.

My succinct reply is "true dat". The Karl Rove method of viciously attacking your opponent's strength- such as John Kerry's military service- is boilerplate Republican strategy. The Democrats, on the other hand, have time and time again opted for the "John McCain is an American hero but..." approach. Whereas Rove comes right at you and punches you in the face before the opening bell even rings, his opponents too often lose the rhetorical battle by sticking with the rules of civil discourse.

I've been waiting my entire adult life for Democrats to not only hit back, but also to hit first from time to time. And maybe even hit first and hit below the belt from time to time. Personally, I'm not optimistic that Obama/Biden will be the ones to end this Dem habit