What happens when political journalists find themselves running low on ideas? Like the WPost’s Dan Balz, they start complaining about politics-as-usual:

A campaign between Barack Obama and John McCain once offered enormous possibilities for something new. Instead, the two presumptive nominees have opened their campaigns for the White House with what looks and sounds like a repeat of the kind of politics both have promised to leave behind.

Since Obama wrapped up the Democratic nomination a few weeks ago, he and McCain have served up a series of indignant exchanges over foreign policy, terrorism, the economy, energy policy and campaign money. Their aides have gone farther, with snarling conference call putdowns and taunting e-mails flowing constantly out of the Chicago and Crystal City headquarters.

McCain has given a series of policy speeches and Obama is beginning to do the same. Whatever substance they may contain has been buried in negative counterattacks from the opposing camp, designed to turn ideas into stereotypes and candidates into caricatures. In the hands of Obama’s advisers, McCain is nothing more than the third coming of President Bush. To McCain’s staff, Obama is merely a liberal, naive, arrogant extension of what Democrats have been offering for years.

The thing about politics as usual is that it sometimes disguises real changes underway. One difference between what’s going on now and the primaries is that the candidates are discussing real issues – energy, the environment, the economy, Iraq – and various policy fixes for them. And we’re finding out there are both some overlaps (on the environment) and sharp disagreements (on most everything else). It’s not tea time here – the fact that there is a lot of dumb rhetoric out there overlaying the substance is not even really noteworthy; it’s just part of politics – always has been, probably always will be.

Moreover, it’s not even aimed at voters. The snide attack-and-parry Balz complains about is an attempt to manage the news cycle – in other words, to win the attention of journalists such as Balz himself by creating the perception of aggression and domination. Sadly, stupid, snide attacks – the more over-the-top the better – are a proven way to win media respect. And most of the time, except when they’re complaining about a lack of high-mindedness, the media buy into the idea that a candidate on the attack is a winner. If Balz really wants that to go away, he ought to look to his own house first.