The Postmodern Approach to Truth in Political Campaigns

A couple weeks ago Mitt Romney's campaign released a TV ad with a quote from President Obama. Although he did speak those words, the context was far different from what was implied by the commercial. In 2008, candidate Obama said, "If we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose," quoting his Republican opponent John McCain. The Romney campaign has defended the misrepresentation by saying, "Ads are propaganda by definition…. It's ludicrous for them to say that an ad is taking something out of context… All ads do that. They are manipulative pieces of persuasive art." Jonathan Chait writes about politics for New York magazine.