Panning for Dirt

“Everyone does it,” said our President, when confronted about taking pre-election dirt from the Russians on his opponent. We know that every candidate does NOT welcome or solicit such material from foreign sources, especially those considered adversaries. But opposition, or “oppo” research, as the President noted, is standard now in major campaigns. Negative advertising about a political opponent will never go away, because, well, it works.

We have to admire those who run for political office nowadays, because they are exposing themselves, and in many cases, their families, to invasive scrutiny that could change their careers – and lives -- forever. 

That said, information is information. During campaigns, it comes to journalists in a variety of ways, often through tips or leaks. Usually, reporters don’t waste time trying to figure out the motives of tipsters. When I was in that field, there were only two questions: ““Is it true?” and “Is it a news story?”

As a news manager myself, I once got a call on the evening  before Election Day about a candidate for a local office, a respected individual, who had been born in another country and came to this one as an adult and acquired US citizenship. The caller said this candidate had been something of a bad actor in the original country, but it didn’t sound all that serious to me, and there was no time to corroborate it before the election. The whisperer, in my case, had just waited too long.

What is  a voter supposed to do, though, in evaluating a candidate about whom a negative story surfaces? A major factor for me has always been how the candidate responds. Does the answer come right away? If the story is true, can the candidate explain it or say, “I’m sorry”? In that case, is the apology sincere and sufficient? If it’s untrue, can the candidate refute the allegation calmly, and with facts? 

For most of us, this is not our first rodeo, as they say, and we already have experience with political mud-slinging among candidates. In spite of pledges of civility, the gloves inevitably come off, maybe sooner than we’d like. It will not be pretty. For our part, we can watch how the candidates perform under this pressure. 

As voters, when it comes to negative material, we must always consider the source, and recognize when someone is playing our violin.