Opinion | When Republicans Go Low …

The question I would ask for E.J. is: Who was right, Obama or Newsom? And I mean Michelle Obama. She had this famous comment years and years ago: “When they go low, we go high.” Gavin Newsom, maybe it’s unfair to him, but the other alternative is when they go low, we go lower. And so put aside morality. What’s the smart thing for Democrats to do? It’s not obvious to me that sinking to the moral level of MAGA is the right answer here. It seems to me if people want to turn the page on this moment, they’re going to want to turn the page in a little the way they turn the page. And this is not a great example of Jimmy Carter after Watergate. They’re going to want to say: I want somebody so clean, somebody who respects government, somebody who plays by the rules, who will uphold the norms that I remember. And it seems to me that’s actually a smarter play for Democrats. Now, I understand the temptation. You can’t hand away the House in 2026. So I understand the temptation. But it seems to me the long-term play here is to go high when they go low.