Walker v. Neumann

As someone who was taking GOP politics seriously for the first time, I really took the Walker/Neumann rumor battle over the last few days a bit too hard.

The sensible Lakeshore Laments was there to inject a bit of sanity into the situation:

Having worked on campaigns before, let's be clear with ourselves; it wasn't a cool or smart move. It's also not the end of the world for the Neumann campaign or this young kid's career. It's about a 1.75 out of 10 on the "Worst Things Campaigns can do to Each Other" Scale. It's amateur no doubt, but the lasting damage is negligible at least. It's an act which will be forgotten by next month....

What both Walker and Neumann campaigns (and bloggers siding with either side) should do is just let the story go. The damage is done -- mostly self-inflicted to Neumann -- and there's not much else to gain by bringing it up again. If there's been a behind-the-scenes apology between both men, the better.

In addition to being wrong, this was a tactical mistake. Those that had exercised restraint in their support of Walker no longer felt the need to do so. Also, it generated some amount of sympathy for the Walker camp, something that from my perspective they have been unable to do on their own.

I guess it's a good thing all around that, "[a]t this stage none of the candidates are all that well known."