'Vitriol' from Romney, Obama campaigns heats up – Mark Preston on the 'raw politics' in presidential race

Excerpted from Mark Preston's "Gut Check" column:

It is hard to ignore the vitriol that exists between the Romney and Obama campaigns. It might actually extend to the two candidates, something we will be watching for in the coming days – and especially on the fall debate nights.

The intensity of rhetoric that we have heard in the past 24 hours from Barack Obama and Mitt Romney is something we wouldn’t be surprised to hear in the closing weeks of the election, not in the dog days of summer.

But here we are as Biden is accused of using coded racial language, Obama cites Seamus the dog, and Romney on two occasions accuses the Obama campaign of taking the race to an all-time low.

This morning on "Early Start," CNN political director Mark Preston looks at the statements from both the Romney and Obama campaigns claiming dishonest attacks.