Preemption Doctrine

I've now heard the Collins radio ad (the one with the lies) and a reliable source has confirmed it's currently on the air.

You don't learn much by listening to the spot. But until I heard it out loud, I missed an obvious point: By lying about Allen--and painting him as a pledge breaker--Collins isn't just (falsely) attacking her opponent's character.

She's also trying to preempt charges about her own big lie.

Remember, one of the candidates in this race really has broken a pledge. And the truth is available for all to see:



The Collins camp desperately wants voters to forget that Susan Collins made a public promise to Maine voters. They want to hide the fact that, through her actions, Collins is making that promise a lie.

And if voters can't be made to forget Collins' betrayal, the junior senator's team wants Mainers to think Allen is equally dishonest--even though that's plainly not the case.

Will voters be fooled? Will the contrast be clear?

I'll say this: If, on Election Day, Maine voters see Allen and Collins as equally guilty of going back on their word, Sen. Collins' opponents will have only themselves to blame.