From a foreigners point of view (I am in Australia) it really is striking how isolated from facts the US public can be. The blame can be apportioned to the major political parties fault, the media, and the educational system. But it also comes down to willful ignorance on the part of individuals.

When I first started blogging five years ago, I made concerted efforts to reach out to people at rightwing websites. Aside from the disturbing levels of anger I encountered, including repeated threats to my self and my family, aside from the atrocious spelling and grammar, aside from the inability to handle logical concepts or develop rational arguments, what struck me was the high levels of ignorance. Sending a whole truckload of links to these people was no help. They just didn't want to know the truth.

Why not? Part of it comes down to tribalism, where politics is just an excuse for social bonding, and anything that threatens those bonds is considered dangerous. But it's also because the truth, for people like this, is just too horrible to imagine:

"WTF? My friends, my family, the media, the politicians and even my President have all been LYING TO ME? For YEARS? No way - !"

It's like that scene from the Matrix where the hero breaks out of his mechanical egg and looks around in shocked disbelief.

It was interesting that the WaPo editors cited above all Mr. McCain's "irresponsible selection of a running mate who is not ready to be president."

When the dust settles on the McCain campaign trainwreck, a lot of people are going to be pointing to his selection of Palin as the turning point. But of course McCain wanted Liebermann, it was the Religious Right who demanded Palin. Will they take the blame for the defeat? I doubt it - they'll be pointing to Bush's popularity, the economy, and McCain's age. It should be a fun little fight to watch, and it could even spell the end of the GOP.

As for Obama's stance on Georgia, one assumes his more rational instincts will take precedence over the demented political correctness that now rules his campaign, but we won't know until at least January. I suspect he will have to battle against the usual suspects within his own party, not to mention Cheney loyalists and the military industry. And if he comes out on top, they might just shoot him.

Democracy Now! has a great interview with those other two US Presidential candidates.

Ralph Nader calls George W. Bush and Dick Cheney "clinically verifiable mass terrorists":

These are war crimes. These are war criminals. They have killed over a million Iraqi civilians as a result of that criminal invasion. That’s where the discussion should have focused on.

Cynthia McKinney on vote fraud:

So, now, what kind of election is it when neither of the political parties is addressing the issue, the fundamental issue, of whether or not our votes are even going to be counted?

And civil rights:

I’ve been talking about the need to repeal the PATRIOT Acts, so that we can safeguard our civil liberties, protect the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Link at my sig.

Peter Dyer is a freelance journalist who moved with his wife from California to New Zealand in 2004. I highly recommend his spotlight article at antiwar.com today, which starts out talking about the only journalist to be sentenced to death at Nuremberg, and ends up hoping that the anti-propaganda legal framework developed after WWII might one day be extended and applied to the Bush propagandist machine and the US corporate media.

A sample:

These casual -- even joking -- comments about inflicting war on relatively weak countries came from American journalists and media figures at the very top of their profession. Each was addressing an audience of millions. It is difficult to overstate their influence.

Over the past decade alone, the massive destruction and carnage wreaked by American pursuit of “the supreme international crime” of aggression has been enabled by negligent, reckless and/or malicious use of this influence.

And yes, Good Celery, the link is at the sig!

I recommend readers take a look at Chris Floyd's analysis of the Powell endorsement (link at sig).

Why is it that the people who created all these problems over so many years are still the ones responsible for delivering the solutions?

Obama has now confirmed that Powell will have a place as an advisor in his administration, and implied that he can choose a more formal role if he likes. So we know where we stand. Perhaps he will give Judith Miller a job too.

adnoto (for all his belligerence) is totally correct - Prez Obama will not be launching War Crime investigations. It will be up to concerned citizens to push for such accountability themselves.

By way of example, here in Australia a group of lawyers etc have banded together to submit a War Crimes accusation to the International Criminal Court, accusing former PM John Howard of deliberately misleading our nation into war on false premises. You can see more at www.iccaction.com (the website doesn't match the quality of the legalese, but there's plenty to ponder there).

Of course this model of action is not suitable for the USA, since Bush did not sign the ICC charter. I offer it merely as an example of what needs to be done. Crimes that go unpunished are crimes that are likely to be repeated. The world is still watching, and waiting. The screams of the dead will not be silenced till justice is done.