Smirking and Magical Thinking: There is too much at stake to entertain absolutes or allow lies to go unchallenged

Opinion: One of the wonders of our age is the persistence of ''Birthers'' and other True Believers who insist that Barack Obama is an Islamist terrorist mole bent on destroying America. They perceived an Angry Black Man behind the elitist smirk they spotted during the Oct. 3 presidential debate. They must have overlooked the smirks on Mitt Romney's face as he listened to the president. Republican smirks could be seen amid the post-debate consensus that an aggressive Romney had beaten a passive Obama. The theatrical aspects of the face-off trumped Romney's flip-flops and falsehoods. More conspiracy mongering was on view Oct. 5. After the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the unemployment rate had fallen to 7.8 percent, former General Electric CEO Jack Welch tweeted, ''Unbelievable jobs numbers..these Chicago guys will do anything..can't debate so change numbers.'' Later, he stood by the charge of data tampering even after admitting he had nothing to back it up. ... (more)

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