Mikey Kaus, writing for Slate magazine, understands it: crying foul every time Team McCain says something Team Obama doesn’t like is a losing strategy for the latter. It makes the man and his entire staff – and party – look like whiners, who are so full of themselves that they cannot accept any criticism and mudslinging (which is deemed normal in U.S. campaigns).

Being ‘outraged’ all the time because team McCain may do something or say something Obama et al. do not like will only result in one thing; a drop in the polls, Kaus writes, and I agree with him.

Kaus explains what should be rather obvious to both Obama’s campaign and liberal bloggers who support his candidacy:

a) MSM outrage doesn’t sway voters anymore. It didn’t even back in 1988, when the press tried to make a stink about George H.W. Bush’s use of “flag factories,” etc. After this year’s failed MSM Palin assault, it certainly won’t work

b) When Dems get outraged at unfairness they look weak. How can they stand up to Putin if they start whining when confronted with Steve Schmidt?

c) It’s almost always impossible to prove that a Republican attack is a 100% lie. Either there’s a germ of truth (Kerry did hype his wartime heroism at least a bit) or the truth is indeterminate

d) Lecturing the public on what’s ‘true” and what’s a “lie” (when the truth isn’t 100% clear) plays into some of the worst stereotypes about liberals–that they are preachy know-it-alls hiding their political motives behind a veneer of objectivity and respectability

e) Inevitably the people being outraged on Obama’s behalf will phrase their arguments in ways well-designed to appeal to their friends–and turn off the unconverted. (‘This is just what they did to John Kerry and Michael Dukakis!’ As if the public yearns for the lost Kerry and Dukakis Presidencies. ‘Today’s kindergarteners need some sex education. Just because Republicans are old fashioned …’ etc. Or ‘These are Karl Rove tactics,’ which signifies little to non-Dem voters except a partisan rancor they’d like to put behind them.)

Democrats and liberal bloggers would be wise to listen to Kaus, and to change their approach to this campaign. I’m a foreign observer, and I’m getting sick by their incessant whining. If I respond to it like that, how do you think Americans think about all the whining and nagging?

After all, I’m a ’softie’ European.