This entire election season I’ve heard a refrain among Republicans that went something like “We need somebody who can beat Obama in the debates!” This has made no sense to me; I thought the goal was to beat him in the election. Debates aren’t the biggest part of that. Nonetheless, now comes this Politico story telling us Romney plans to “Fact-Check” Obama during the first debate on Wednesday. I admit I nearly fell off my chair when I read this sentence: “Mitt Romney plans to turn himself into a one-man truth squad during the first presidential debate next week.”

Considering the blatant falsehoods Romney continues to tell in both his ads and his speeches (need a compilation? Steve Benen has lists!), I don’t know whether to admire his chutzpah or marvel at his and his campaign’s stupidity.