The President has been fond of blaming his legislative failures and lack of leadership on Republican "obstructionism." He has himself called for greater "civility" in our national discourse.
But the problem for him now is that the campaign he has conducted is giving the lie to his excuses and his image as an avatar of "civility." He has allowed his campaign workers, allies and other Democrats, without any evidence, to call his opponent a potential felon, a tax cheat and even a murderer. He has praised the debate performance of his vice president -- an outing that set a new low for courteous disagreement. Does any reasonable person -- after watching Joe Biden, Harry Reid and Stephanie Cutter -- really think that the GOP is completely to blame for the lowering of the tone of our national politics?
Obama's image as a "new kind of leader" who would "bring people together" couldn't be more completely shredded, thanks to his serious and serial hypocrisies.