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I'm actually aware of the difference. I was talking about the tactic in campaigns that's become known as "Swift Boating", whereby you repeat something that isn't true--but could be--and anyway has nothing to do with the issues at hand in order to cultivate a negative view of your opponent. Such as in 2000 (before the term was invented, but great example) when W had robocalls in SC asking voters if it would change their opinion of McCain if they knew he had a black baby. He doesn't; he has a Vietnamese child, not that it should matter what race his children are. But the point is that if you're a Machiavellian, what are the consequences? None. I'm not advocating that philosophy, but I'm just trying to point out the difference between running commercials bringing up a legit point (i.e. did Romney lie on an SEC filing?), and what a hypothetical one might look like that could actually be called something like "Swift Boating".