...where's Bin Laden, Sarah? Maybe you can ask the Maverick.

hmm. all seem awkward. fair enough, salon ;)

what's clear is that true patriots aren't afraid to criticize what they love in the hopes of improving it.

this is sorta, y'know, the american way and the entire purpose of democracy.

dead-enders like palin aren't comfortable with gray areas and want to pretend that being a "good american" means submitting mindlessly to orders and ideas from the an authoritarian state.

it's a reprise of the whole "with us or against us" / "if you have reservations about this war you want the terrorists to win" / "freedom fries" line of total bullshit the neocons trotted out before the invasion of Iraq to stifle discussion, debate, and dissent—those practices vital to any true democracy.

and look how that turned out.

this is all an aside, really. the charges are ludicrous and unbecoming a true statesperson. but, again, it's really all the implicit assumptions in the method and tone of attack that really get my attention.

big brother/sister, anyone?

How much sleazier does Palin have to get before I can call her a bitch without anyone thinking it sexist? I mean, she is acting like a two-faced snotty bitch, isn't she?

It really has nothing to do with gender, or at least as much as gender plays into calling Bush a dickhead.

And of course, she is still a liar.

This is about to get REALLY ugly. Unable to move the country in their direction with their discredited ideas, expect a barrage of charges and statements from McCain and Palin that will make the word "negative" sound mild by comparison. It's the first and last chapter in the Rovian-McCain playbook where no effort will be spared and no new low will be low enough in the mission of tearing down Obama's image and reducing his surging lead in the polls.

Would it be too much to hope that--this time--those efforts will prove transparent to the public and cause McCain's already damaged reputation (self-inflicted) to suffer even more?

The next month is going to be filled with disgustingly desperate lies and twisted half-truths. The scumbags who run the McCain campaign actually said they are doing this to deflect attention away from the economy. God, how pathetic.

This is the first shot, but look for more subtle and not-so-subtle racist comments to start flowing from "surrogates". This bullshit will grow and become even more ugly than I think I can stand. So what do we do about it? Sling back all the easily-found mud possible, or take the high road?

I'm so worried about the outcome of this election. Please, if you are an intelligent, reasonable American, make SURE you are registered, and get out there and register as many like-minded people as you can. If you don't, you may find yourself living in a very scary place come January 20, wondering how on earth you got there.

MCCAIN, HOW DO YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT, YOU SAD, DESPERATE SHELL OF A MAN????

Thanks, Salon, for letting me vent.

This is what I was afraid of! I knew that eventually McCain would resort to the underhanded bigotry, and he is using Palin to do it. By making that statement he is playing the "he's too dangerous card"...to dangerous because he is black, to dangerous because he is "Muslim"...McCain and company are using Palin to appeal to the voting block of bigots who they KNOW will respond to such rhetoric. I just hope that someone in the mainstream media calls him on it!

How's this then?

Sarah Palin is a mean, conniving, narcissistic, lying sack of shit, like McCain, like Bush. (Repeat 10 times).

Better?

Hmm, I prefer bitch, it just fits her so well.

LOL! And ITA, Sarah Palin is a Bitch.

You can't build a weak man up by tearing down a strong man.

Abraham Lincoln.

He DID pal around with Ayers along with a host of Iranians and Syrians.

And we told you it would be a problem - something nobody SHOULD have had to tell you.

That you thought he'd get through the election w/o this is just so hilarious and sad. And it's classic GOP to do it at the last minute before he can effectively respond.

Wasn't exactly like he had a certain victory BEFORE this. Even on the heels of 1929 replayed he could barely stay tied with McCain.

You're going to lose. And we told you.

And I am sure the media will not call them out on their lies.

I'm waiting for the "ugly" ad that will be palyed on the news, but will only be paid to paly once, like the Willy Horton ad.

McCain's behavior will be rationalized as "doing what it takes to win". The pundits will wonder "Does Obama have what it takes" to "convince voters he's not a muslim/terrorist/homosexual".

These sophmoric attempts to distract the media or undecided voters from the real issue which is the ECONOMY should obviously reflect the absolute desperation of the McSame campaign to say nothing of the incoherency of the messenger

I would think it's about nigh time for Caribou Barbee to head back to her native Alaska and get to work on that ammended tax return too. Her fifteen minutes of fame based on prepared text are just about up and really how much more embarassment can the GOP absorb here?

Scary indeed....

What is, perhaps, most disturbing about this is that it appears Palin never read beyond the first paragraph (or two as best) of the Times article. She appears to have missed the parts about Obama's condeming Bill Ayer's previous actions with the Weather Underground. Can you imagine if she, as Commander in Chief, only read the first paragraph of intelligence reports sent to her? Does the term "nuclear holocaust" spring into mind?

Look, if we were to dismiss every politician for every encounter they have had with someone of less than perfect credentials as they climbed the ladder to higher offices, then no one, and I mean no one, would withstand that test. You betcha even Sarah came across people who weren't as pure as freshly fallen snow in Alaska as she aspired to her elected positions. Golly, this makes me just so angry!