On finding that example of something that almost sinks to the level of a smear. You must be quite proud.

But I can't let you play fast-and-loose with words; I know where that leads. There's absolutely no question that Aravosis at Ameriblog saying "McCain made a propaganda tape for the enemy while he was in captivity. Putting that bit of disloyalty aside..." is a hateful twist on the neutral fact that the North Vietnamese filmed McCain while a prisoner, and used those images in propaganda.

But hatefulness alone doesn't make a smear. If it were otherwise, every time a Winger mentions "Liberal" it would be a smear. A smear goes much further than hyperbole and exaggeration, and makes shit up.

Of course, getting that even that much traction required quoting Aravosis out of context:

It's not "nice" to ask the question, but it's actually a pretty good question. Yes, we all know that John McCain was captured and tortured in Vietnam (McCain won't let you forget). A lot of people don't know, however, that McCain made a propaganda tape for the enemy while he was in captivity. Putting that bit of disloyalty aside, what exactly is McCain's military experience that prepares him for being commander in chief? It's not like McCain rose to the level of general or something. He's a vet. We get it. But simply being a vet, as laudable as it is, doesn't really tell you much about someone's qualifications for being commander in chief. If McCain is going to play the "I was tortured" card every five minutes as a justification for electing him president, then he shouldn't throw a hissy fit any time any one asks to know more about his military experience. Getting shot down, tortured, and then doing propaganda for the enemy is not command experience. Again, it's not nice to say say, but we're not running for class president here. We deserve real answers, not emotional outbursts designed to quell the questions.

John Aravosis @ Ameriblog

He actually raises a legitimate question, despite doing so in a pretty ugly way. McCain cites his time as a POW every chance he gets, and he's woven it into the narrative of why we should think he's best qualified to be CinC. McCain's gotten a free pass on that one so far, but he has no right to demand that it be off-limits if he's going to use it as part of his sales pitch.

If he doesn't lighten up, it's only a matter of time before some latenight comedian comes up with "For McCain, the parts of speech are noun, verb, and POW". And thanks to Google, I'll get royalties.

For all that, one example does nothing to rebut my assertion that smears are SOP for Republicans. Nice dancin', though.