That is the conventional wisdom and I think Karl Rove and his ilk exploit it for all it is worth. They continue a strategy originally perfected by Ronald Reagan which was to say whatever advances your cause, regardless of the truth. If you get caught in fib or mistake, most people will never hear about it. Of the smaller percentage of voters who do learn of the mistake or fib, most will (a) not care, (b) assume it was an innocent mistake, or (c) assume that the Democrats are just as bad. That leaves a small percentage of people whose opinion is affected adversely and most of those people will never be convinced anyway. So, in the end, there is no price to pay for dishonesty. So long as everybody keeps with the mantra, "Both sides do it - one side is as bad as the other...", Rove, et al., have no cause for concern.

It's the genius of Karl Rove.