When a conservative or libertarian claims that what Barack Obama said is either some sort of socialist extremism or just a banal statement that of course some basic level of government is a good idea, the thing to remember is that he’s running for president against a party which claims — at least in their officially endorsed budget — to be against what almost everyone thinks of as normal, banal levels of government.

Mitt Romney has spent this entire week lying about something President Obama said, and taking his remarks completely out of context to tell that lie. That says a lot about the Romney campaign, what Mitt Romney has to offer America, and whether someone who consistently lies as much as he does is even worthy of running for public office.