EDITORIAL
Campaign must not be about 'dirty tricks'

Well, it's started. Accusations and counter-accusations. Dark mutterings of unfair campaign practices, smears and the like.

What happened to a battle over ideas and leadership styles?

In recent days, we have seen Democrats accusing Republicans of getting much of their money from "outside," and by that, somehow unclean sources. Trouble is, many Democrats do the same thing.

While we might all wish that all campaign cash was raised at home, that's simply not how it is done these days. To make a campaign issue out of this is to distract attention from the real issues.

Not to be outdone, of course, Republicans held their own news conference to denounce what they claimed were smears and dirty tricks aimed at gubernatorial candidate Linda Lingle. The materials they displayed were despicable, surely, but to insist that Mazie Hirono and the Democrats disavow them was absurd.

The Republicans know those anonymous, racist letters didn't come from the Hirono campaign or any legitimate Democrat. They were either a hoax or the work of someone with a screw loose.

Republicans also denounced a tough-talking Democratic Web site that deconstructs Lingle's public record in a most unflattering way. Hard-hitting, to be sure, but it doesn't fall into the category of dirty tricks.

All this sound and fury may be good for rallying the troops, but it hardly serves to educate the voters. They want to hear clear and substantive talk from the candidates on the economy, on education and on leadership plans.

In the end, that's far more important than cross-accusations that mean little and accomplish nothing.