You said:

"Think I'm an id10t?"

Well, I hadn't thought that until I noticed you couldn't spell the word. Then I started suspecting something. I went back and read your posts. And I was confronted with the horrible truth. I'm sorry. Does your family know?

Step away from the crack pipe, son. It will be close enough to make it exciting for all, due to the electoral college, but I wouldn't make any wagers based on your predicted point spread and you should probably hedge that McCain pick.

We all know that the media are more sympathetic to the GOP. We also know that if the Democrats engaged in the sort of sneering, personal attacks launched by Palin and Il Duce last night that they would be characterized in the media as angry, spiteful, and shrill. That just reflects the media environment in which we live. So it seems naive to me to argue that the Democrats should adopt the same strategy as the GOP. The GOP uses that strategy because they can get away with it. You seem to think that if the Democrats used the same tactics, they would be covered in the same way by the media. They wouldn't. That is why most Democrats are wary of using these tactics.

Yet again, the GOP launches brutal personality and cultural attacks on the Democratic candidate. Yet again, Democrats seem determined to allow it to do so.-GG

Sarah Palin - The Trollop with a Wallop -- Jim White

Now, we have a track record of what happens when you put mean-spirited dumbasses in control of the White House -- Silverback66

Secondly, I think some of this is a game of chicken. The Republicans will gladly tear this country apart and go for vicious lies and pandering. They don't care about leaving smoking ruins. -- DragonScholar

The other factor that is striking is how stupid and immature such a huge part of the electorate is - how much they never advanced beyond adolescence with its mocking, sacrasm, shallowness, and social clicks. -- Samson141

They have clearly decided that firing up tyhe Hate-R-Us crowd is the only way they'll get anywhere.-- Paul Dirks

Her speech was brutal and vicious but it wasn't ideological. The ideological parts were spoken in code -- those who want to see it will, but those who don't may not. -- GlennGreenwald

John McCain is an eccentric, vainglorious character who is erratic in his views,impulsive and ill advised in his decision making,has questionable control of his temper and is given to meanness and personal attacks on those who oppose him. -- oninnam

That adage was proved once again by the manic celebration of Palin -- JackHughes

the republicans will literally say anything, no matter how false or ridiculous, to bolster their chances to win and retain power (and avoid criminal prosecution). Why not indeed. -- welmaker

as the Rethugs' Big Guns expectorated in Obama's general direction -- What Constitution?

I mean, they will stoop to no level to low and do it in your face without remorse. -- Awklib

your analysis of republicans and democrats reminds me of parasitology. parasites typically start off as actual independent creatures -- zzz05

Obama won the Democratic Primary. He presented himself as a new and inspiring vision for the future. He built his case for certain issues (I would like even more detail, personally, but if you go on his site and get into his different issues, he gets within sight of brass tacks).

Members of the Democratic Party responded to this in sufficient numbers (or with sufficient passion in caucus states) to annoint him the nominee.

Here's the problem: he now much win a general election, and I don't know if he's up to it anymore. We keep lauding his registration numbers, but how much of this new support is only going to turn turqoise states azure? We must not forget that the general election requires a majority of that most odious of American institutions: The Electoral College.

This is why we talk about red states versus blue states.

And there are a hell of a lot of people in those red states who will eat up Palin's shtick with spoon. Now that the Republicans have resurrected the specter of the "Liberal Media" these voters can assume that any story coming out of the media is just a vicious left wing smear campaign.

You don't think that they vetted Palin? They know there are skeletons in the closet. That's why they've taken to demonizing the media. Until she is caught in bed with a dead boy or a live girl, she is going to be teflon in the eyes of the base she has been selected to mobilize.

The problem with the Cultural Tribalism which the Republicans tap into each election cycle is that it is impervious to anything from the opposing tribe. Logic and Reason become lies and manipulation. Aggressive examination of an opponent's policy becomes a vicious assault on their beliefs.

The Democrats should be more aggressive, but it has no guarantees that it will sink in.

If Obama and Biden do not want to get their own hands dirty, then they need genuinely cutthroat surrogates. I thought Wesley Clark's working over of McCain set a good template.

If nothing else, they need to stop speaking positively of McCain. You don't want to attack his character? Fine! But say NOTHING POSITIVE. Not one word of praise, not one concession of character. Nothing. Maybe take on the verbal tic of refusing to refer to him by name.

The key is to mobilize mobilize mobilize.

And do not underestimate Palin. I have no doubt that she will play well at church picnics, sewing circles and small town lunch counters throughout Red State America. Remember, the Republicans don't need to win any more states than Bush did, and they don't need to win those states by any more than Bush did.

Considering the dense and enthusiastic populations of the blue states, I will not be at all surprised to see Obama dominate the popular vote and lose the Electoral.

And frankly, I think it is exactly that outcome that the Republicans are looking for and selected Sarah Palin to facilitate.

Imagine the devastation that would be wrought upon these starry-eyed dreamers out there working for Obama. How many of them would walk away from that result knowing that the Fix Is In, that the system doesn't work and they are SOL and JWF (shit out of luck and jolly well fucked, respectively)?

All these dedicated people who allowed themselves to believe in the System will become much more interesting in the wake of such a "defeat" Some would undoubtedly become quite radicalized. You might even say dangerous. You might even say that the grassroots infrastructure left behind by a thwarted Obama campaign could be seen as the foundation of a homegrown insurgency. Paging Homeland Security.

All the while, the cultural minority which asserted its will through are corrupt electoral system will still be nashing its teeth, fired up and thirsty for the blood of all those elitists conspiring against the common folk.

Cultural Tribalism, indeed. And what do Tribes often do? Go to war. The floor of the convention last night was whipped into a legitimate frenzy. That protester should consider herself lucky she was escorted out. Had she been thrown to the delegates they would have been ready to eat her spleen and offer the heart up to Palin as a sign of loyalty.

This is the Republicans' game, and I'm not sure if Obama and Biden (or anyone for that matter) has the chops to take it down.