Libel, Slander, and Political Muckraking

One of the things foreign nationals notice different about the US is the amount of muckraking going on during campaigning: each candidate points out what a lousy individual the other guy is.

This guy voted to cut your benefits while giving himself a raise,
That guy vows to uphold the interests of the NOW or the NRA…then flip-flops,
She will raise taxes,
He will do this, that, and the other thing…etc.

Surely, all these accusations are not verifyibly true…how does laws regarding libel and slander enter the situation?

Very recent thread on the same subject.

Just FYI-- not sure there was a definitive answer, but there is a lot of discussion.