Question: Are politicians obliged to treat every accusation seriously?
I mean, at what point to they just say, “that is silly, get lost.”
Don’t answer the question and it appears to some that he is hiding something, or answer and you are legitimizing the accusation, thereby encouraging more outlandish and silly accusations that political enemies demand an answer to.
Answer with a curt “no” and move on, but reporters will not move on, they will come back over and over with “Well, the NE now says such-and-such. . .” It never ends.
There is no correct way.
NE is a tabloid, full of swill that old ladies in check-out lines read for “news.”
Has NE got something right before?
Yes, but it is an exceptionally, exceptionally rare occurrence. When it comes to the NE, the saying that even a blind squirrel occasionally finds an acorn is so very true.
Standard for “proof” with NR should be extraordinary high because of their known nature and past spectacular failures and made-up nonsense.
NE has got some big stories right because they pay informants and witnesses unlike other media. They got Edwards and OJ right and broke some serious stories. I don’t know if Cruz did this or not, but I don’t take political stories from the NE lightly.
If you’re a Republican (as a Democrat, adultery is usually a resume-enhancer), this is one charge you have to defend if it is false. You hold a press conference with your wife at your side and you denounce the report and deny the accusations. If possible, you get the wife to say they are false.
A lot of women, who will never speak a word about it unless asked, will dump a politician if he’s an adulterer because, to them, that’s the most sacred vow and nothing else from that candidate is trustworthy if he isn’t true to his wife.
You can’t treat it like a money scandal or a flip flop. You have to attack it head on or admit it as true and ask for forgiveness. There are no other political options.