NAACP Boos Actually Helped Mitt Romney

The NAACP actually did Mitt Romney a favor by showering him with boos yesterday. Sure, Romney's campaign pointed out that the audience applauded as well, "but it's in their candidate's interest to get booed," argues John Dickerson at Slate. For one thing, "quiet golf clapping … would weaken the Daniel in the Lion's Den story. Big deal Daniel, the lions just purred at you." It also let Romney brag about how steadfast he was being—a big plus for the Etch-a-sketch candidate.

But most importantly, those boos "replaced the outsourcing of American jobs as the political topic of the day." Both sides have learned that controlling the conversation is everything. They're "willing to endure boos, howls from fact-checkers, and even some cries of hypocrisy if it will keep the argument" on their turf. So Obama runs his outsourcing attack ads, Pinocchios be damned, and Romney calls ObamaCare a "tax," even if it means RomneyCare taxed Massachusetts. "Let them boo—as long as the message gets through." Click for Dickerson's full column. (More ObamaCare stories.)