In the last two debates, the president has employed a smart, simple, and effective technique to counter Republican messaging. Call it the Big Truth strategy.
In recent years, so much of Republican political argument has involved either the Big Lie or at least the Big Mislead. But while the Big Lie can be effective for a time, President Obama has demonstrated the devastating consequences of this dishonesty for Romney in the last two debates.
The Big Lie can only work when it goes unchallenged, which means it can work for quite a while in our current political climate. Therein lies its weakness. Romney and the Republicans have telegraphed their deceitful lines of attack for weeks, and so the president was ready.
The first example is the terrorist attack in Libya. For weeks, the Republicans claimed that the administration hadn't called it an act of terror. Romney tried the Big Lie at the second presidential debate, and the president was ready.
The second example is the effectiveness of our military. For weeks, Romney has been making the misleading comparison between the U.S. Navy of 2012 and the U.S. Navy of 1917 by counting the number of ships. He tried the Big Mislead at the third presidential debate:
Our Navy is older — excuse me — our Navy is smaller now than any time since 1917.
Again, the president was ready:
President Obama has introduced the Big Truth strategy into the Democratic arsenal, and it should enable Democrats to dominate debates for the foreseeable future. While there may be ways for Republicans to mitigate the effectiveness of the Big Truth strategy, there is only one comprehensive defense against it: stop lying.
Our country is at its best when our political discourse comes from participants who argue for their points of view vigorously and honestly. The Big Truth strategy may finally end the nonsensical approach that Republicans have used for a decade or more, a consummation devoutly to be wished.