What a week.
On Thursday, Sarah Palin let North Carolinians know how much she enjoys visiting the "pro-America" parts of the country.
On Friday, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) told MSNBC's Chris Matthews that Barack and Michelle Obama hold "anti-American views" and called on US media to investigate and publicize which members of Congress are "pro-America or anti-America."*
On Saturday, McCain senior adviser Nancy Pfotenhauer declared on MSNBC that the campaign is running strong in "real Virginia." (Here is a nice new map of the Virginia McCain & Co. imagine: http://www.jedreport.com/2008/10/john-mccains-new-map.html.)
Also on Saturday, McCain himself started calling Obama a "socialist," attacking Obama's plan increase to taxes on the rich and increase tax credits for the poor poor as a threat to "Joe the Plumber." This, despite the fact that McCain's economic plans also include tax rebates to the poor (though in much smaller amounts and only to make up for loss of health insurance that other parts of plan would cause). And notwithstanding that that Joe:
would get a substantial tax cut under Obama's plan
is not a licensed plumber
owes back taxes
Of course, angry white men are now showing up to McCain/Palin rallies carrying plungers and declaring: "I am Joe the Plumber."
(http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/10/17/politics/horserace/entry4529481.shtml) (I guess we should be glad they're not carrying guns or pitchforks.)
In the meantime, the McCain campaign has launched a nationwide robo-call* onslaught tying Obama to 1960s terrorism and accusing the Democratic candidate of putting "Hollywood over America." (The folks McCain hired to do this happen to be the same ones that helped sink McCain in 2000 by spreading lies about McCain's having fathered a mix-race child out of wedlock.)
*Here the lovely Bachman interview, including tape of a McCain robocall: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27243547#27243547
What decade is this?
©2008 Keith Berner