Editorial
The Time of the Roorbacks (Updated)
By Dr. Gary K. Busch, Ocnus.net 30/10/06
Sep 14, 2008 - 9:30:56 AM

If you think dirty politics are new, think again.. A Roorback is a false or slanderous story used for political advantage. It is named after Baron von Roorback, imaginary author of Roorback's Tour Through the Western and Southern States, from which a passage was purportedly quoted in an attempt to disparage presidential candidate James K. Polk in 1844.
 
In the midst of the 1844 presidential campaign between James K. Polk and Henry Clay, a letter was published in a newspaper in Ithaca, New York claiming that a reputable witness (one Baron von Roorback) had seen Polk purchase and brand 43 slaves. The letter caused an uproar that threatened to derail Polk's campaign until it was discovered that the whole thing was a hoax perpetrated by the opposing party — a 19th-century Watergate. Baron von Roorback didn't even exist. The incident proved a political boomerang; Polk won the election and the name "roorback" became a byword for political dirty tricks.
 
A current source for the latest in roorbacks from both sides is http://www.factcheck.org/.
 
In short, don't believe anything that is said in the  last weeks of a campaign; the air is filled with  roorbacks and 'keepers'; stories which will damage the opponent which have been kept back to the last days of the campaign where they cannot be explained or answered.

The airwaves are awash with Roorbacks. We only await the 'keepers' in a few weeks time.


Source: Ocnus.net 2008