I would say "smearing" would. But I would only consider "smearing" bringing up mostly discredited crap or making HUGE leaps to spin things about the president in a negative fashion. Like, "OMG did you see the color of his tie? It was RED. What about blue? What about white? Why does Obama hate the colors of America?"

BTW, I voted the same way you did.

Don't you go blind for voting on your own polls?

That's an old wive's tale. Now, please excuse me. I have to go shave my palms.

As a Democratic President, Obama deserves the benefit of the doubt. But some turn that upside down and assume he is the enemy.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]“If you're not committed to anything, you're just taking up space.”
Gregory Peck, Mirage (1965)[/center][/font][hr]

You could be right. Criticism isn't really a smear, is it? Very good.

It's a rare public figure who doesn't deserve some criticism. People who make themselves public figures should expect criticism. I wanted to provide a robust set of possible answers one could vote on.