NOTHING BUT THE TOOTH

Comedian Stephen Colbert gave politics the word “truthiness,” an assertion of belief no matter what fact or logic says – if it feels true, it is true. Now for the 2008 senatorial election, Maine has “toothiness,” a political smear that will be noticed more for its pointlessness than its intended message. Maine voters deserve better.

Toothiness arrives here from the Democratic-linked group Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, which recently sent out a press release with a picture of Sen. Susan Collins absent all but one tooth – the rest were blacked out. The headline on the release read, “Will Toothless Senator Collins Finally Change Her Tune?” Ignoring the cliched mixed metaphor and that by blacking out all but one gleaming tooth, the doctored photo shows her not exactly toothless, voters are left with the level of behavior that causes middle-school principals to get on the intercom and announce that if there is further destruction of campaign posters for student council, the perpetrators will serve after-school detention.

Sen. Collins’ challenger for 2008 is Rep. Tom Allen, an articulate, well-funded candidate who is an opponent of the war in Iraq, as polls show most Maine voters are. Those voters also overwhelmingly approve of Sen. Collins. That may be because her accomplishments are matched by her thoughtfulness on difficult issues. A debate between the two on what direction the United States should take in Iraq would give Maine a substantial and complex look at the alternatives. It would inform rather than merely ridicule.

Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, naturally, is welcome to join in Maine’s general debate over the central issue of the campaign. But if the group intends to show any respect to this state’s voters, its releases are going to have to use more mature techniques than distorting a candidate’s photograph.