Twitterpated

It has seemed that TV ads might have dumbed down political campaigns as far as they could go. That was a mistaken belief:

Twitter has allowed for another avenue for campaigns to communicate with voters, but it's also created a new venue for staffers to talk smack.

In advance of tonight's U.S. Senate debate in Indianapolis, staffers backing Republican Dan Coats and Democrat Brad Ellsworth have exchanged barbs via the site.

[. . .]

Foughty (@TrevorGOP) tweeted, "At debate tonight will Ellsworth tell us he's a sheriff more or less often than Long Thompson told us she had a master's degree in '08 debates."

[. . .]

That got the attention of Liz Farrar (@Liz4Ellsworth), Ellsworth's press secretary, who tweeted back, "@TrevorGOP Real question is whether @DanCoats will mention he's a lobbyist even once."

Your candidate's a phony! So's your old man! Nyah, nyah, nyah!

Good lord.

The debate wasn't much better. Coats lined his pockets with lobbyists' money! Ellsworth slavisly followed the Obama-Pelosi agenda! There now, you haven't missed a thing.