As the 89 year old mother of a son, who has given his own life to save other young marines fighting for our freedom in Iraq on at least three ocassions, I am appalled at all you liberal elitists casting asspersions on the honor of the McCain campaign. Until, like me, you have been locked in a cage and endlessly tormented, you simply don't know what patriotizm means.

I stuffed envelopes for a Republican US senatorial campaign and then threw them all into a dumpster, because I was a "mole" for Gary Hart's first Senate race in Colorado. It needed doing, but I'm still ashamed of it.

To those who don't see the difference between MoveOn and other organizations' letters and letters to the editor:

MoveOn and other organizations ask you to sign the letter with your own name. You are not pretending to be the mayor of Wasilla or someone else who is extremely important and influential.

You are also encouraged to add to or change the letters, if you don't want to send a form letter.

I, too, have worked for Democratic campaigns, and I repeat what others have said -- we were encouraged to write letters to the editor, but were never, ever given talking points or told what to write.

And to those who say, "it's not illegal, so what's wrong with it?" I say: that's very similar to what all of the financiers who are in trouble now have been going on about for years. "Sure, our practices are ethically suspect, but hey, there's no law against it, so what's stopping us?" Their demands for money without oversight are once again symptomatic of their belief that if there are no rules, then they can keep doing whatever the hell they feel like doing, regardless of how it damages the rest of society.

The point is, engaging in these tactics demonstrates the utter lack of a functioning, internalized, ethical compass.

We seem to be living in a society where some people think they can do anything, no matter how selfish and unethical, as long there are no legal consequences.

It's always best to be skeptical of letters to the editor. Anytime you see a letter specifically praising a politician, especially on an obscure issue, it's probably written by someone either affiliated with a campaign or someone on the politician's staff.

As an INTERN for a centrist Democratic senator I used to write letters to the editor for well-known constituents to send to their local paper. I guess that's a little different because I was pretending to be someone real.

satisfy nearly everybody while so many people involved in this campaign insist on making fools of themselves, media-types most of all. Henry Ford said that history is bunkum but if he'd had the power to look into the future and see the presidential campaign of 2008 he'd really have understood what "bunkum" means.

I think that Margriet Oostveen should at the very least be as subversive with the Obama campaign as she was with McCain's. Go write some ghost letters for the Democratic campaign and at least show a fair side-by-side comparison!

Politics are politics and the nature of the beast hasn't changed. However, before you put a nasty spin on one candidates tactics you should examine your own!

When you send these letters, the do come en masse, clearly supporting a cause or idea, without the pretense of original authorship. They are petition-like, and I don't think anyone expects to come across as the writer of the letter.

"petition-like"? What degree of truthiness would you assign to this statement?

I've never seen one of these letters that starts off "This is a form letter that we've solicited thousands of people to send you in hopes of influencing your vote." But maybe I don't get around enough. There are plenty of methods for doing petitions online. These form letters are intended to have a specific effect different from that of a petition.

And why do you suppose that the websites for most lawmakers now have an email contact form instead of simply publishing the lawmaker's email address?

I have seen some of these letters to the editor in my newspaper [Newsday] on Long island N.Y.

How many of you have sent under your own name a letter or email to a state rep, senator congressperson, world leader etc. that was in fact a form letter written by the Sierra Club, Earthwatch, The Union of Concerned Scientists, you-name-it.

When you send these letters, the do come en masse, clearly supporting a cause or idea, without the pretense of original authorship. They are petition-like, and I don't think anyone expects to come across as the writer of the letter.

When you read a letter to the editor, the expectation is that it is was written by the person whose name appears at the bottom.

But then again, I always thought letters to the editor were more in response to an actual article or piece, the rhetorical or factual aspects, and even the opinions on the topic, but not just general postings about people's stories, thoughts and feelings. That's what online bulletin boards are for.

"repitition"

"Save your Word.doc as a Microsoft 2003 of previous version"

You can't make this stuff up.

Fuck that. This is an FBI matter because it is mail fraud.

to -- postnoodz If you still have that submit it to an Obama office. -- peeps1

Did anyone else notice that one of the talking points was that Palin is ready to be PRESIDENT?

McCain's increasingly been acting like a puppet with someone else's hand up his ass, but last I checked he wasn't quite dead yet.

I can’t believe that, with all of Salon’s reportorial resources and the commenters’ eyeballs, not a single one of the Margriet Oostveen letters can be found in newspapers. This reeks of unvetted bile.

I’m an Obama supporter, but I’m disappointed that Salon has published this story without so much as a single “fake letter” placement identified.

At some point the annoying voice that decries the state of Republican politics becomes, itself, the enemy. I’ve long since directed all my Moveon.org e-mails to my SPAM folder.

There are a million reasons to go after McCain-Palin. He’s a prick to people. Palin’s executive experience is akin to the manager of a Burger King who aspires to become the CEO of Microsoft. Her push for abstinence-only sex education in Alaska didn’t work out so well for her, but even in the light of irrefutable personal experience, she is unwilling to change course. McCain and Palin are dangerous for America. They wouldn’t make the world hate us less. A Mc-Palin ticket would quickly serve to justify the world’s collective ire.

That stated, shame on you, Salon, for not getting your ducks in a row before leading with this inflammatory article that offers no proof. The fact that the story was already published in a Dutch publication is no excuse. The Dutch are allowed a great many freedoms that are unhealthy. This is, perhaps, an example of the worst.