Damage concerns politicians and media more than public
People outside politics and the media tend to be less obsessed with the nuances of every political news story than politicians and the media and often have a better grasp of the essential facts than they credited with by politicians and the media.
Claim made by Andrew Gilligan in
The Observer:
"Normal people aren't like politicians and journalists. They don't follow every news story; they make up their minds on the overall balance of the evidence disclosed to them. Media attacks only work if they fit with the grain of the facts."