So Much for Nuance

Jim Geraghty over at Kerry Spot picks up on David Brooks' tracking of the recent shift in the Kerry Campaign to wild-eyed accusations and bald-face fear-mongering.

Personally, I think this is a huge mistake for Kerry. The reason he gained so much ground during the debates was that people were given a chance to see him speaking calmly and reasonably, and without the tinfoil hat the Bush Team had nailed to his head so successfully during September. By reverting to the kind of campaigning Brooks and Geraghty note, J. Francois seems hellbent on jamming the ol' reynolds-wrap chapeau right back on his noggin again.

Why? Why on earth?

Brooks offers the following insight into the Lib psyche:

Why is he doing this? First, because in the insular Democratic world, George Bush is presumed to be guilty of everything, so the more vicious you can be about him, the better everybody feels.

But there is a deeper assumption, which has marred Democratic politics for years. Some Democrats have been unable to face the reality that people have been voting for Republicans because they agree with them. So these Democrats have invented the comforting theory that they've been losing because they are too virtuous for the country.

According to this theory, Republicans - or usually some omniscient, omnipotent and malevolent strategists, like Lee Atwater or Karl Rove - have been tricking the American people into voting against their true interests. This year, many Democrats decided, we'll be vicious in return.

Geraghty wonders if it isn't simple desperation.

I think it's both: As you can see from today's RealClearPolitics average tracking graph:

Bush owned Kerry all through September. Much of that deficit was erased by the October debates, but evidently not enough for the Donk's comfort. And judging by the past couple days, it looks like the Big Mo is swinging back in Dubya's direction. If I were a Dem operative, I, too, would be looking at that graph and thinking 1) Karl Rove has got his Mind Control Beam (TM) powered up again and 2) time to panic!

Again, do I think it's going to work? Frankly, no.