”Both campaigns are expressing not faux outrage, which is mostly what we see , but genuine outrage,” Halperin said. “Based on what happened last night, the president’s team is stunned that the president would be accused of engaging in a campaign of hate. Mitt Romney used the word ‘hate’. I think he meant it. I think the president’s team was very stung by it. Either today and the rest of this week we’re going to escalate into nuclear war, or I’d like to see some detante. This is not the campaign I think either of these candidates wants.”
Joe Scarborough agreed, saying that he thinks this started with last week’s pro-Obama Priorities USA super PAC ad. Critics say the ad suggests that Romney was responsible for the death of a former plant worker’s wife’s death from cancer.
“If somebody accused me of killing their wife, I think hate would be a word that I might feel quite comfortable using,” Scarborough said. “Think about it, just think about it. You’re in politics and your children have to see run over and over and over again a man saying that your dad killed his wife. And he doesn’t even care. I’ll just leave that to the audience to answer whether that rises to the level of hate or not.”
Join the conversation as a VIP Member