Mark Halperin: “The past week saw an escalation of the negativity, as depressing as it is predictable, that has infused the entire election year… The two campaigns would rather not discuss tough issues like the deficit, so they need distractions. Senior strategists in both camps are veterans of scorched-earth election victories, and they don’t believe voters are turned off by negative ads…”

“Which side does the race to the gutter help? The conventional wisdom says a fight over anything but the weak economy benefits Obama, and his team acknowledges that his path to victory requires making Romney an un acceptable alternative. But the Republicans think Obama’s personal likability has been able to protect his favorability ratings from negative perceptions of his economic record, and they hope he will dirty his good name by mud wrestling with Romney. Best bet: the nuclear summer becomes a nuclear fall.”
Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire