Speaking of propaganda ... as this photo op proves, Mitt's just a regular guy (Reuters)

Speaking of propaganda ... as this photo op proves, Mitt's just a regular guy (Reuters)

Struggling to justify a recent television spot that reached new heights of deception, a top operative in Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign put it plainly, while insisting on anonymity: “First of all, ads are propaganda by definition. We are in the persuasion business, the propaganda business…. Ads are agitprop…. Ads are about hyperbole, they are about editing. It’s ludicrous for them to say that an ad is taking something out of context…. All ads do that. They are manipulative pieces of persuasive art.”

Via Greg Sargent, Tom Edsall obtains this curious defense of dishonest video editing from Mitt Romney's campaign:

I wish I could say that reading this quote surprised me, but it doesn't. The only consistent element in Mitt Romney's entire political career is his willingness to say whatever he thinks he needs to say in order to win. He believes elections serve one purpose: to give him the opportunity to gain power. Given that mindset, of course he has a campaign team that believes honesty is irrelevant to political communication.

And given Mitt Romney's countless flip-flops—many of them on video—there's something quite self-serving about the aide's claim that "all ads" take things out of context. Perhaps that's what they want people to believe—but just like his ad campaign, it's not true.