Psychologists have an acronym for what Mitt Romney is doing here: DARVO. It stands for Deny, Attack, and Reverse Victim and Offender: Romney on Debates: Obama Will ‘Say Things That Aren’t True’.

With the first presidential debate less than three weeks away, Mitt Romney is spending lots of time getting ready behind closed doors.  In his first comments on that debate prep, he told me that Sen. Rob Portman is a tough stand-in for a president who basically lies in debates.

“I think the challenge that I’ll have in the debate is that the president tends to, how shall I say it, to say things that aren’t true,” Romney said. “I’ve looked at prior debates.  And in that kind of case, it’s difficult to say, ‘Well, am I going to spend my time correcting things that aren’t quite accurate? Or am I going to spend my time talking about the things I want to talk about?”

In fact, DARVO has become the default operating mode for the entire right wing.