Attack Ads on The Huffington Post

Christopher J. Daggett, Independent, Stirs Up New Jersey Governor's Race

2009-10-12T08:42:52Z

Matthew Filipowicz: WATCH: "Is Sotomayor Smart Enough?" Attack Ad

2009-05-26T18:58:56Z

As we all have heard, President Obama has nominated federal appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court. And, as expected, the right wing were ready to pounce.

One of their lines of attack, as shown by this just released ad, is that Sotomayor isn't very smart despite her extremely impressive pedigree. Take a look.

Alright, that's not a real ad, but it might as well should be. And the line of attack, which began in Jeffery Rosen's mostly anonymously sourced column, is ludicrous.

She was valedictorian of her high school. She graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Princeton. She then studied law at Yale, where she was the editor of the Yale Law Journal.

Maybe the problem is that most right wingers don't know what summa cum laude means. Probably not, though. Most likely, they're just desperately making stuff up to try to stop an extremely qualified nominee.

Feel free to follow me on Twitter if you're someone who does that sort of thing.

Douglas MacKinnon: Huckabee Was The Inspiration For The Twisted Character in My Novel

2008-11-20T15:39:07Z

While doing publicity for my new novel The Apocalypse Directive, a number of interviewers asked me who served as the inspiration for the Evangelical President of the United States who professes to speak directly to God and so twists his Christian faith that he is preparing to carry out the most heinous act known to humankind? Other than stressing that it was not George W. Bush, I mostly left the question unanswered as I moved on to the next subject.

Mike Huckabee's renewed, juvenile, and un-Christian written assault on former rival Mitt Romney compels me to admit that it was he who served as the inspiration for the evil character. When is enough, enough for this guy?

In promoting his new book, Huckabee has decided to take Romney to task, not only as a way to settle an old score, but to fire a warning shot across Romney's brow in preparation for the 2012 Republican primary. Aside from the fact that we are all desperate for a breather from the just completed election, is this the type of behavior that should be exhibited by a Baptist minister?

According to published reports, Huckabee is still miffed with Mitt because he is successful, because of their past rivalry, and most of all, because Romney did not make a congratulatory phone call after Huckabee's primary win in Iowa, of which Huckabee writes was "a sign of total disrespect."

Gee, maybe Romney was just a bit down after the loss and forgot to call. Or maybe, after Minister Huckabee continually smeared his Mormon faith, Romney saw no reason to be disingenuous with a man who never showed him or his family any respect.

Whatever the real reason, Romney seems to have made the right decision not to call. At least, based on the fact that Huckabee continues to pile-on the former governor of Massachusetts with lines like, Romney was "anything but conservative until he changed the light bulbs in his chandelier in time to run for president."

When asked for a response, Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said Huckabee was acting small. "This type of pettiness is beneath Mike Huckabee. If we're going to move the party forward, we need to offer more than personal recriminations. Unfortunately, in this book, Mike Huckabee is consumed with presumed slights, and he seems more interested in settling scores than in bringing people together."

Mr. Fehrnstrom is wrong. Obviously, it's not "beneath Mike Huckabee." In case he has forgotten, let me remind the Romney spokesman of a Huckabee classic.

On the last day of 2007, this "man of God" decided to hold a news conference to unveil a nasty and negative ad aimed at former Governor Romney. An unsavory ad that was devised and filmed by Huckabee in the midst of the Christmas holiday. But wait. As Huckabee got to the podium to announce the ad campaign, he had a Machiavellian change of heart. "No," he decided basically on the spot. The ad would not run. Of course, his change of heart had nothing to do with being "Christian" at Christmas-time and everything to do with trying to get the media to do his dirty work for him and run the ad for free.

During that same primary campaign, there were reports that Huckabee told a Pastor that God speaks to him. In recounting all of this to an Evangelical friend of mine, the friend responded, "The tiny man who runs Iran and wants to wipe the United States and Israel off the face of the earth, also says God speaks to him. No Christian should use the Lord as a cheap campaign gimmick."

From that conversation sprung the Huckabee-like character in my novel. What if an ultra-religious former governor became president and twisted the Christian faith to fit his own demented needs? How would our nation and the Christian faith react to such blasphemy?

Should he want to read a fictionalized defense of Christianity and religion, I'd be honored to send Mike Huckabee a signed copy of my novel. Hopefully, he won't blame Mitt Romney for the hauntingly familiar character.

Karen Dalton-Beninato: Athens Native Sons Against Bringing Saxby Back

2008-11-07T17:27:27Z

If you woke up this morning tired of not donating to a candidate facing a crucial election, here's one for you. Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss is potentially in a runoff with Jim Martin. You may recall when Saxby managed to conflate war hero Senator Max Cleland with Osama Bin Laden in this ad:

He's now featuring 9/11 footage in his new ad, not that there's a clear path yet to how he will conflate Democratic candidate Jim Martin with the attacks.

It's bound to get worse, since the attack dog wing of the Republican party is bored enough to go after their own Vice Presidential choice. The voters targeted by both of the ads above are so low information they make Sarah Palin look like Alistair Cooke. It's the demographic that consistently fell for creepy emails about Obama and the end of days, although you'd think they'd be bigger fans of bringing on the rapture. Getting the truth out there is the only way to combat this.

The Georgia runoff will not just be about the chance to win one more seat in the Senate, it will be about winning the most crucial seat. A Martin win could give the Obama administration a veto / filibuster-proof majority as it gets to work on repairing the economic meltdown, ending the war in Iraq and restoring our international reputation as a nation. If you saw today's press conference, the President Elect is already inspiring confidence with his impressive team of financial advisers and, for an Illinois history wonk, his shout out to Lincoln.

So when Al Franken becomes Senator of Minnesota after the mandatory recount, when Mark Begich defeats convicted felon Ted Stevens to become Senator of Alaska, there is one runoff that will help get the Democratic Party to 60 in the Senate. True, Sen. Joe Lieberman may flip to the right, but it's not too early to call dibs on Sen. Chuck Hagel. Maybe Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel will give him a Chicago-style pep talk. By the way, is it just me or has Hagels' hair been looking great lately? [Gaffe alert: Since that wouldn't help as his term is about to end, a commenter below also suggests Maine Senators Collins and Snowe or Dick Lugar. But I really do like Hagel's hair].

No matter which senator goes for a switch, the Democratic Party does not achieve 60 without Martin winning, and the incumbent has a major war-chest to utilize. A source told the Huffington Post's Sam Stein that Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee all are likely to campaign to bring Saxby back.

For the opposition, Justin Timberlake could rewrite "Bringing Sexy Back," as "Not Bringing Saxby Back," and R.E.M., President Elect Obama and a potential grass roots war chest will bolster the effort. Georgia's native sons are actively asking for support for Jim Martin in the runoff.

R.E.M. Manager Bertis Downs writes:

"It is the only race left in our global village. As longtime friends and supporters of Jim Martin, we urge anyone not already involved in his campaign to check out his information and consider donating -- he will be outspent by the Republicans, but with the ground game and momentum generated so far, maybe just maybe prevail in the runoff (and he was 20 points down in the polls a few weeks ago)!..."

Martin himself writes:

"Saxby Chambliss has promised to do everything he can to stop Barack Obama from succeeding. We face the biggest challenges of the past 60 years - let's work together to solve them. In the Senate I'll do what's best for Georgia, what's best for this country, and what's best for the middle class who've been ignored the past eight years."

Politico posted, "John McCain will be campaigning for Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) in the all-but-assured runoff against Democrat Jim Martin next month, according to Chambliss' campaign." [emphasis added].

So if you woke up this morning tired of not donating to grass roots campaigns, here's a link to the most important one left in the ground game:
Martin for Senate.

UPDATE: This is posted on the Palmetto Scoop so take it for what you will, but they're running with it: "We're setting up our entire field team again," said one emboldened Obama staffer in Ohio. "I'm coming to Georgia and bringing several hundred of my friends with me."

Robert Kubey: Obama Will Leave Us Without Defense Systems is the Charge in Fake Soundbite Attack Ad Running on CNN

2008-11-04T01:43:59Z

An ad attacking Sen. Obama, apparently just released, convincingly fakes Obama's voice, with him saying he is against various conventional defense systems. The ad was running Monday and election eve on CNN. It comes from a group called letfreedomring.com.

The ad's clear aim it to instill fear in less informed voters hours before the polls open. The ad says that a President Obama would fail to protect the nation or keep it safe.

I posted something earlier tonight on this to learn if others had seen or heard the ad, and indeed others have. It seems to have minimally run in the tri-state area of NY, NJ, and CT; Tennessee, and the critical battleground state of Virginia.

If Obama had said that he was against conventional defense systems, including nuclear as we hear in this ad, McCain and the news media would have surely attacked him for this weeks ago, and run legitimate ads on the subject.

Instead, these ads are being run by a PAC, I presume, and in the final hours before the polls open.

One wonders how widespread this campaign is, and whether it can have any effect in closely contested battleground states among very poorly informed registered voters who may now be motivated to vote when they wouldn't have been yesterday. Also consider they are being hit with a barrage of Rev. Wright race-baiting attack ads from other PACs.

The proportion of such voters may only be a couple percent, but even that very small percentage can make the difference in a very close state. After all, we do not know all the parameters to consider in current polling with the first African American candidate.

If I'm correct that such an ad could bring some people to the polls who were not planning to vote a few days ago, the ad can have a real effect as polls are generally predicated on "likely voters."

Getting unlikely voters up and out the door to their polling place and phoning their friends may be one of the aims of this malicious smear ad, based in complete untruths.

I think Sen. Obama will emerge victorious tomorrow, but it might be much tighter than some think.

Robert Kubey: Obama Soundbites Faked in PAC Attack Ad on CNN Moments Ago

2008-11-03T23:13:02Z

Just moments ago, at 10:55 pm EST on CNN a PAC attack ad ran from something called "letfreedomring.com" in which Sen. Obama's voice is heard arguing against various weapons systems. These appear to be fake soundbites.

The ad's clear aim it to instill real fear into voters hours before the polls open that a President Obama would leave the nation without defense systems, traditional and nuclear.

Are others seeing or hearing this ad elsewhere, or in robocalls?

I don't recall a presidential candidate's voice being faked before in a television ad, and I strongly suspect that this is what was done.

I do not believe Obama has said any of the things I heard. Reminds me of the Bush attacks on Dukakis in 1988 for being against weapons systems that Dukakis did not oppose.

If others see this, I hope they will post or comment.

Robert Kubey: McCain's Rev. Wright Attack Ad Can Drive Undecideds: Polling Science Tells Us So

2008-11-02T23:11:04Z

In these last hours of the campaign, the sudden onslaught of McCain 527 "swiftboat" style Rev. Jeremiah Wright attack ads are worrisome and could swing undecided voters and shift close battleground states into the McCain column.

The ads show Rev. Jeremiah Wright and we hear his voice saying "God Damn America," the "KKK of A", and other incendiary words. There are a woman's words about trusting the presidency to a man who had Wright as his pastor and mentor, and then print saying of Barack Obama: "Too Radical, Too Risky" for America. Various Rev. Wright speeches are on youTube and the ad itself was there earlier today.

Millions of dollars are being spent on these ads that are all quite similar and appear to come from different groups (goptrust.com, as one example). They just ran one inside "Hardball" on MSNBC. And those millions of dollars aren't being spent without some people thinking their money is being well spent and will get results.

That's because both parties, and these 527 and other numbered groups, test market their ad campaigns well in advance, then tweak the ads many times over with carefully selected focus groups of undecided voters.

The technique has been honed and made into a science over the last 20 years, especially since Lee Atwater developed the method into a disturbing art in the Willie Horton ads that tested well for Vice President Bush in his smear of Gov. Dukakis in 1988. Incidentally, Atwater asked for forgiveness on his deathbed, regretting what he had done in his career with such ads.

The critical point is that it is easier to scare undecideds than uplift and inspire these same voters. The psychobiological study of fear demonstrates this.

People innately fear more immediate dangers that can be readily imagined than more distant threats. They experience real bodily fear and anxiety. Global warming, for example, doesn't scare most voters much in the here and now as it will happen more in years to come and some may rationalize miles from our shores. It takes some thinking to get worked up about global warming.

A presidential candidate linked closely to his own African American pastor who said "God Damn America" will not calm the concerns of millions of shaky and impressionable voters.

A four to six point margin in some battleground states with five to nine percent of voters still undecided coupled with an unpredictable Bradley effect--never tested in a presidential election--and so many other factors, make for uncertainty.

And the Bradley effect may come more into play now that Rev. Wright's preaching style and voice and picture have been brought back into the campaign. The ad clearly permits the McCain support groups to play the race card, and inject primal racial fear, in a very deliberate way.

Meanwhile, commentators are spewing out one Obama path to 270+ electoral voters after another for Tuesday night, and all the electoral college maps leaning blue are impressive.

But I am not convinced. I think Senator Obama may well win, but I also know the power of negative attack ads on less informed voters. The people who tweak campaign ads for every last bit of power are not paid millions of dollars for nothing.

This is true on either side, from the most inspiring to duplicitious of ads.

And who knows if on Monday a new fear inducing ad from a McCain support group won't take up another feature of Obama's biography?

Hall Of Shame: The Most Hate-Filled Flyers Of The 2008 Campaign (SLIDESHOW)

2008-10-30T18:20:21Z

"Passion and prejudice properly aroused and directed...do about as well as principle and reason in a party contest."

- Thomas Elder, prominent Whig politician, 1840

In a bitterly-contested presidential election, a Democratic candidate praised for his intellectual demeanor and idealistic spirit is the target of vicious personal attacks that question his patriotism and his ethnic background.

It was 1800, and Thomas Jefferson was the subject of rumors and crude innuendo circulated in newspapers and handbills passed out in taverns claiming that he was the son of a half-breed Indian squaw squired by a Virginia mulatto father.

Obviously, things haven't changed that much.

The 2008 election has been marked in recent months by an endless round of negative ads and robo-calls attacking Barack Obama's patriotism, honesty, integrity, faith, experience.

Watch a slideshow of the most hate-filled flyers and mailers in the 2008 campaign:

The negative personal attacks of the current campaign stands out, compared to dirty tricks used in recent elections like the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ads in 2004 and the rumors spread about John McCain's adopted daughter in 2000, because they're being voiced by the Republican candidate and his running mate, rather than their surrogates or sympathetic groups.

"One thing that has struck me is that it's been left to McCain and Palin to directly make some of the personal attacks on Obama's character," says Kerwin Swint, the author of "Mudslingers: The Top 25 Negative Political Campaigns of All Time."

"In the past, this would have been done by outside groups like 527s or PACs. Past Republican candidates haven't directly made these attacks. But those groups haven't been there for McCain like they have for previous candidates and that's left him in the position of having to do it himself. He may not enjoy doing it but his advisers have told him, "This is your only chance." And he's thrown it all at Obama - the only thing he held back on was [Rev.] Jeremiah Wright."

One of the most negative lines of attack used by McCain was the recent question: "Who is Barack Obama?"

"That suggests he's not who you think he is. It's a nefarious play to people's fears. 'Is he really a Muslim?' 'Is he close to terrorists?' He's not one of us. It's about making him seem scary and un-American."

Swint compared such attacks to the infamous ad used by late Senator Jesse Helms in his tough re-election campaign in 1990 against Harvey Gantt, the first black mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Those attacks have a not-so-subtle racial element to them, explains Joseph Cummins, the author of "Anything For a Vote: Dirty Tricks, Cheap Shots, and October Surprises."
"It plays into people's pre-existing seeds of racism, that as a Muslim or as a black man, he's alien to the mainstream."

Cummins says that current campaign is in contention to make his list of the top 10 dirtiest presidential campaigns in American history. "The volume of stuff put out by the McCain campaign is pretty extraordinary."

Most of those ads have aired on TV, radio and the Internet and negative attacks have been used in robo-calls by the campaign and Republican party officials.

But some of the crudest attacks, many of which are circulated by independent operatives and players not affiliated with the McCain campaign, have used the oldest campaign technique in the book: flyers posted on bulletin boards and shoved under car windshield wipers.

The worst examples, shown in the accompanying slideshow, have used racist caricatures, implied that Obama has an affinity with Osama Bin Laden, and suggested that the country is on the verge of a race war.

There have been some anti-McCain flyers with caricatures of the candidate as a scarred POW but they did not appear during the general election and were distributed by McCain's contenders in the hotly-contested Republican primary.

Steve Young: The Character Assassination of Al Franken...And His Characters

2008-10-30T10:35:15Z

The National Republican Senatorial Committee put out a kitchen-sink type ad in Minnesota Monday, accusing someone of writing pornography, laughing at the disabled, humiliating minorities and demeaning women.

And I thought Republicans liked Bill O'Reilly.

But I kid the NRSC.

Okay. The NRSC was taking a shot at Al Franken, and in his Minnesota Senatorial battle with Norm Coleman where Coleman felt necessary to call in the Marines. Um...Maroons...from Hollywood - aren't they all out there? - to explain why Al Franken is a terrible person.

John Ratzenberger, Robert Davi, Pat Boone and Victoria Jackson. No denying we're talking A-list Hollywood, but their standing in show biz should not be in question. They have just as much a right to speak as they do to perform their paid gigs. But when I hear those who say that "you are not your job" I'm guessing that more than most people, those in show biz (actors/comedians/singers) understand that when they do their job, they are most likely performing as someone they are not.

It's their job, not who they are.

Does John Ratzenberger believe that most mailmen are blithering idiots who live READ THE REAST OF THE ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION OF AL FRANKEN'S CHARACTERS
Award-winning TV writer, Steve Young, is author of "Great Failures of the Extremely Successful" (www.greatfailure.com) and blogs at the appropriately named steveyoungonpolitics.com

Brian Ross: Channel This Election Fervor Into Helping the Country

2008-10-29T09:39:39Z

It is fear of change, or the lack of change, that are polarizing our electorate.

In an odd way, my brief meeting with Joe the golden retriever owner, while doing some canvassing for the Obama campaign yesterday evening here in Boca Raton, FLA., was probably a pretty good way to help me regain some sense of balance in these final days leading up to the election.

It is easy, reading everything you can find on the web, to get caught up in the waves of the news cycle, and the high-amp that happens when shows try to find extreme points of view, which, sadly, this year, are plentiful. John Oliver's brilliant "Obama and Palin Rallies of Fear" on "The Daily Show" was a funny bit that showed how strong opinions become in the heated final days.

Yet there was Joe, who told me that he was a McCain supporter, but that he was happy to help my son canvassing for Obama find his way around the apartment complex where we were working.

His five week old golden retriever doesn't have any political affiliation, apparently, because it was more than happy to run over to me and jump all over me and enjoy a good head scratch.

Joe, as we'll call him for this interview, since that seems to be the fashion of this year's campaign, said:

"I'm for McCain but I can appreciate that you guys are taking the time and being part of the political process. That's really good."

I knocked on a few more doors, and came back. Joe and his dog were still out there, taking in the 65-degree crisp, by Florida standards, evening air.

"Do you mind if I ask you why it is that you support McCain?" I asked him.

"Oh no, sure," he replied as a good-natured Joe is apt to do, "I've voted Republican my whole life, and I think he just represents more of what I'm looking for with all of the stuff going on out there."

I asked him if he was more of a social or a fiscal conservative.

"Oh, fiscal, more so, yeah, but I, there are a lot of other things that the Democrats want that I don't go with."

I got the impression, from talking further, that McCain would not have been his first choice, but that he was the party's choice. That's pretty common, even amongst us Democrats.

I said: "You know, I know where you're coming from. I didn't get all excited about Kerry, either. You know who I miss though? Robert Rubin."

Joe smiled, nodded, and agreed that Bill Clinton's Treasury Secretary was pretty good for all of us.

"John Snow was one of the worst Treasury Secretaries in history," I reminded him.

"Yeah, a lot of people in the Bush Administration weren't too good on the money," he agreed.

"That's what I worry about," I told him. "Maybe you know, because McCain hasn't mentioned it on television that I know of, or in his stump speeches. He says that he's going to solve this mess. Who is he going to get to do that? The same guys who are doing it now? I mean, I know that Obama has Robert Rubin, and Warren Buffett to advise him, who I think are pretty smart guys..."

"Oh yeah, Buffett's great," Joe acknowledged.

"So who is McCain going to get to fix the mess like he says? I looked a bit, but maybe you've seen something at one of the Republican websites or on some news that I missed."

Joe thought, and realized that he didn't know.

"For what it's worth," I said, "You might want to take a look and see, because right now, the economy is job one, and I think that Obama on the rest of the stuff that you might be worried about isn't so bad. He's got good people behind him who can help get the economy back on its feet."

Joe promised that he would check it out, and, even though it is likely that he's still going to draw the line between the arrows (our system) for McCain, at the very least I got him thinking about it.

Reasonably.

The reason that I bring this little slice of humanity to you is because I think that it is way too easy to demonize "the other side" in all of this. I sit and listen to McCain and Palin's incendiary stump speeches on POTUS, the XM Radio political channel, and hear their stream of desperate distortions and outright lies, and think to myself: 'Who can listen to this and have watched TV or the video and know that this is not total bull.'

I thought that Karl Rove and Lee Attwater came up with this type of slimy politics. dlinguist, a HuffPost reader, corrected me by showing me this:

"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. "
-- Joseph Goebbels.

The rest of the quote is:

"The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State."

There are a lot of people for whom voting is more habit, and following in the footsteps of one's parents, just like, for a large part, religion.

There are going to be differing opinions on which way to go. There are those who are going to be afraid of John McCain's wild behavior and hyperbolic rhetoric, and there are those who think that Obama is a black Muslim socialist communist reverend Wright Christian vote-fraud endorsing baby killer. If I missed a smear tactic, my apologies.

In between, though, are me, and Joe with the golden retriever puppy. When the dust settles next Tuesday, the lunatic fringe of both sides will crawl back into their burrows for another three years of winter, and the rest of us will have to repair the damage that the Bush Administration has done to this country.

This is one thing that McCain, reluctantly, and Obama are now in agreement upon.

So go and be passionate. Get out there and get people to vote. Speak to your point of view. Temper, though, your passions so that you can hear other people's needs, wants and fears, and they can hear you, too.

Next week, we will need that level of calm and order to get to the hard work once the confetti and streamers are gone, and the heat of the campaign has not left a warm enough glow to keep the house heated this winter, or families with sub-prime mortgages from being put out of their homes.

Diane Perlman: Political Hysteria: Call for Immediate Pre-Election Calming

2008-10-28T17:30:03Z

Political Hysteria: Call for Immediate Pre-Election Calming

Warning

Tension is mounting with negative ads and evidence of voter suppression, machine tampering and other dirty tricks. Hate and fear mongering is reminiscent of the McCarthy era. People are being manipulated by deceptive robocalls, talk shows, ads, posters, and gimmicks. Snide, mean-spirited booing and outrageous comments are allowed, even encouraged at some Republican rallies.

I worry about those being whipped into hysteria. Although politicians using base tactics are losing popularity, they play on fears of people susceptible to emotional exploitation. This may qualify as incitement, defamation, libel, and disinformation, pushing the limits of free speech.

Preventive Intervention

Steps can be taken immediately to prevent likely emotional fallout for the sake of our national mental health and political stability. We cannot wait until after the election. Specific measures include calming, reassurance, correcting falsehoods, demystification (like debriefing from cult brainwashing), and messages of transcendence, cooperation and unity. This is best done by respectable authority figures.

I speak as a registered Independent, post-partisan, concerned American. This is not partisan. Civil Republicans are harmed by the disturbing rhetoric coming from the McCain campaign. The Obama campaign discourages booing and demands more respectful behavior. As a clinical and political psychologist, I worry that social/emotional forces will intensify fear, and confusion that could disrupt a golden opportunity for unity, healing, and restoration of our role in the world.

Split Brain Politics

Unlike countries with multi-party systems, proportional representation, and instant runoff voting, our simplistic, two-party, winner-take-all, precarious election system (with electoral college) encourages black-and-white, us against them thinking. This harms us all and intensifies Republican issues of loss and struggles within the party. The unhealthy dynamic in our country can be transformed.

Political Hysteria

The content of some robocalls, ads, talk shows and rallies provokes irrational fears and "Political Hysteria" - individual hysteria, magnified by group processes, conformity, and social sanctioning of uncivil behavior.

Hysteria is a state of mind characterized by overwhelming fear, excitability and emotional excesses. People may lose their grip on reality, dissociating cognitive functioning from emotion and/or behavior. In "poor reality testing" emotions overwhelm accurate perceptions and assessment of objective reality, resulting in poor judgment, denial of obvious facts and evidence. Reason has no effect. "My mind is made up. Don't confuse me with the facts."

Mass hysteria occurs when excessive emotional excitability is fueled in a social context. "Political hysteria" is when emotional forces serve a political, ideological purpose. A subculture of affected people are filled with unwarranted, primitive fear. They say that if Obama wins they are scared to death, it will be the end of our country, he is an Islamic terrorist, and other bizarre, delusional beleifs.

I feel compassion for these vulnerable people and worry for them and the rest of us. Some unstable types are erupting now. Actions taken immeditately can reduce the social sanctioning and provocation of hysterical behaviors. It is essential to address fears in effective, specific ways that reassure and correct misperceptions. McCain did this when reassuring a woman that Obama was decent and she didn't have to fear his presidency.

One example of political hysteria is the moral panic that gripped Salem from 1691 - 3, leading to trials, torture, imprisonment, and executions. That hysteria ended when the Governor Phips ordered the release of all suspects.

This informs us that hysteria is stopped by a strong, respected authority figure asserting the reality principle, dispelling hysterical fears permeating the community. Likewise the McCarthy period was punctuated when Special Counsel for the Army, Joseph Welch said, "You have done enough. .. Have you left no sense of decency?" We need this kind of leadership now.

Calls for Civility

This alarming matter is inspiring calls for civility, such as:

An Open Letter to John McCain from Frank Schaeffer, October 10, 2008
".. If your campaign does not stop equating Sen. Barack Obama with terrorism, questioning his patriotism and portraying Mr. Obama as "not one of us," I accuse you of deliberately feeding the most unhinged elements of our society the red meat of hate, and therefore of potentially instigating violence ..... Change the atmosphere of your campaign. ... stop stirring up the lunatic fringe of haters, or risk suffering the judgment of history and the loathing of the American people - forever. .... We will hold you responsible.
(Note: This letter had no apparent effect on continuing rhetoric.)

A Statement by Communications Professors Concerning Recent Discourse of the McCain/Palin Campaign, October 23, 2008
"In recent weeks, the Republican ticket of John McCain and Sarah Palin has engaged in such incendiary mendacity that we must speak out. The purposeful dissemination of messages that a communicator knows to be false and inflammatory is unethical. It is that simple."

Pastor Rick Warren, in his wisdom, held a civil forum early in the campaign. He gave his blessings to both candidates, who are both his friends, preventing dehumanization.

A Time for Calming - Political Therapy

Polls are showing that Obama is ahead, and may win with a mandate if there is a legitimate election, unchanged by fraud. With an Obama victory, some will be terrified.

We need politicians, especially thoughtful Republicans, religious leaders, TV and radio talk show hosts, celebrities, community leaders and the candidates themselves to act before the election to calm fears and begin healing.

This requires
1 - Empathy for the depth of people's fears
2 - Familiarity with the messages they receive
3 - Familiarity with their belief systems
4 - Ability to communicate specifically in their language
5 - A compassionate tone of calming rather than judgment or making them worng

We need pervasive, direct, emphatic, deliberate reassurance and calming of manipulated fears, such as:

* Obama and McCain publicly declare together, that whatever happens they will work together to heal the divisions, form a unity cabinet, and find respectable places for each to serve the country.

* Thoughtful Republican leaders, as McCain supporters, can say if Obama wins we will be fine, calling for acceptance, and unity. They will work with Obama to represent their interests. Obama can say that he will work with Republican advisors and appear with them.

* Obama can speak directly to calm those who fear him., acknowledging and speaking deeply to their worries about race.

* If Obama wins, many will be exuberant and rejoice. They should not gloat and be magnanimous, compassionate, and reassuring towards those who are upset.

* Obama and McCain can emphasize post-partisan, beyond red/blue rhetoric and stop language blaming the other party. Obama should reach out to Republican colleagues to strengthen bonds.

* All candidates, at all rallies, should forbid booing and violent comments (which the Obama campaign has done). Like a responsible parent or teacher they can say, "Booing may feel good, but let's be more mature than that. We are all Americans and no matter what happens we will work together."

* Those who continue inflammatory rhetoric should be immediately challenged on grounds of ethics, morality and possible legality of incitement, defamation, libelous and sedition. Fire hosts or give them intensive behind-the-scenes education and have them calm their audiences. Their comments are far worse than what got Don Imus and Trent Lott in trouble.

* Identify and boycott sponsors of shows that incite.

* Religious leaders, mega church leaders, TV Evangelists, and other public figures should call for calm and unity and be available for healing during and after the election.

* Go beyond dualistic Republican and Democratic thinking. Differentiate thoughtful, civil Republicans and Democrats from those who are mean-spirited and destructive.

* It is time to move together as Americans towards post-partisan consciousness. The world is waiting for us to manifest our highest ideals. Form post election reconciliation teams now and begin creating a healing environment.

* This week hold teach-ins, town meetings, give sermons, talk show segments, and have therapists like Dr. Phil, begin preparing people for possible disappointment and have people talk to their friends, relatives and neighbors.

* Educate about universal security and bodies knowledge on conflict analysis, tension reduction, nonviolent conflict transformation, and reversing cycles of violence. Many incorrectly believe in provocative, threatening policies that have the opposite effect of escalating violence. They fear that Obama is not tough enough. Increase understanding of wisdom, dialogue and effective strategies than can reduce threats and increase enduring security.

* Make preparations for possible extreme reactions anyway.

A Golden Opportunity

We are at the threshold of a new era. This fragile time is filled with promise and fraught with potential for danger. A massive collective effort towards healing and reconciliation will support the best-case scenario and reduce forces that could sabotage our process of coming together.

Let's all bring out the best in ourselves, our leaders, and our celebrities to raise the level of discourse and create a contagion of calming to allow us to bring out the best in our country.

********
Song for our country
Imagine There's No Parties
(written in 2004 ) by Diane Perlman

Imagine there's no parties
It's easy if you try
No more left-right food fight
No more thinking black or white
Imagine politicians solving problems for us all

Chorus
You may say I'm independent
But I just want to stay alive
We have to learn to be transcendent
So our descendents can survive

Imagine no financing
No raising thousands by the hour
No corporate favors and romancing
Outspending rivals to buy power
Imagine politicians free to focus on higher goals
Chorus

Imagine no domination
Replacing war and the arms race
Using conflict transformation
Preserving peace in outer space
Imagine politicians using win-win strategies
Chorus

Imagine stopping global warming
Pollution and extinction too
Heeding scientific warnings
Creating jobs to do what we must do
Imagine politicians working to heal the Earth
Chorus

Imagine we're one nation
Not this split insanity
Bringing to the world elation
Elevating humanity
Imagine politicians working for a higher good
Chorus

Imagine changing our direction
We're running out of time,
Let's give the world protection,
A life sustaining paradigm
Imagine all the people living safe and free
You may say that I'm a dreamer
But this is possible to do
All of us can be redeemers
If we commit ourselves to work this through

***

Are you suffering from Election Anxiety? How has the election impacted your life? Tell HuffPost, and we may just quote you! Tell us your stories using this Survey Monkey form.

Related:

Larry David: Waiting For Nov. 4th
Presidential Depression: Dealing With Post-Election Blues
Election Anxiety: The One Thing Republicans and Democrats Can Agree On

For more posts on Election Anxiety, click here.

Lisa Solod Warren: Voters Haven't Given Up On American Dream

2008-10-28T15:08:17Z

"I don't believe in coincidences. I believe in the curlicued whimsy of fate," says Sam Tyler, the character actor Jason O'Mara plays on my favorite new television show Life on Mars. He's accepting the philosophy of a ditzy post-hippie who's adopted him when he lands in 1973 after a car accident and a bump on the head transports him from 2008.

Was it coincidence or the curlicued whimsy of fate that landed me on the same doorstep of a man I had canvassed just weeks earlier? What are the odds? There I was with eight other people this past Sunday, standing out in the warm fall sun--the only nice weather we had had for days--while the Seth handed us our packets. Randomly. Those left over from canvassing the day before. Randomly. Our partners were chosen. Randomly. And then, while my partner drove, I divvied up our lists. Randomly. And looked down at my list only to find not only was I in a neighborhood in which I had traveled before but I was about to knock on a door I recognized.

"Hi," I said, as Richard G. opened his front door. "Remember me?"

Leonard Mlodinow, author of last summer's bestseller The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives might not have been surprised, nor was Richard all that weirded out. So, even though I was a little perplexed by the whimsy of fate, I just decided to go with the kismet of it all and sat down in one of the chairs outside his front door. I asked him how he had been.

"I'm pretty much leaning toward Obama at this point," he said.

While that hadn't been the question, I was glad to hear it. The last time we had spoken, Richard had been a clear undecided. Intelligent, thoughtful and torn he was also a man clearly down on his luck and looking for a way out. I promised him the office would send him some literature and I was disappointed to hear that they hadn't. But Richard wasn't bothered. He had been doing his own research.

"McCain's gone so negative," he said. I nodded. "He doesn't say anything about what he'll really do."

While Richard leaned up against his house and I took a load off, his kids wandered in and out of his small subsidized apartment, his son taking out the garbage ("that's his job), and an older daughter getting on her bike to ride around the complex. He has custody of his three children and struggles mightily. A few moments into our conversation much younger woman stood at the screen door.

"That's the ex-wife," Richard nodded at her. "She comes by to visit the kids."

Richard doesn't look good. Even though only a few weeks have passed the lines on his face seem more pronounced but his mental energy is unflagging.

"I've been writing letters," he said. "But no one wants to listen to me. I have ideas, good ones, but I can't get anyone to pay attention."

I might be warned off this man and his "ideas" if I hadn't spent time with him before. He's smart and serious and terribly embarrassed at where he's ended up in his "drunkard's walk," the series of seemingly "random" events that caused him to lose his house and be on the dole.

"You wanna share?" I asked. "Or are you keeping them to yourself?"

"Sure," he said, smiling. "I'll share. What do you see all along the highways?"

I thought a moment. "Billboards?"

He shook his head, smiling again. "Tires. Especially truck tires."

I agreed. I had dodged them many a time, especially the retreads eighteen wheelers are so fond of.

He then outlined his plan to charge tractor-trailer trucks a fee of some kind for every tire. "Someone has to pick them up and dispose of those tires," he said. "That revenue could pay to fix and maintain the interstates. Especially Interstate 81 which is so heavily traveled and is a mess. They want to build toll booths! Imagine the expense of toll booths at every exit. It would take years to recoup that expense."

"This amounts to a tax, you know." I said.

"Yes," he said, "but..."

I finished it for him, "it's a usage tax, like on cigarettes or alcohol..."

"And, he said, you could collect it at weigh stations, or, he said, from the big trucking companies. Of course independent drivers would squalk, but..."

"It's a good idea," I said. "It's a start."

"And," he said, "I also have an idea how to get us out of here."

Here is subsidized housing, of course. Where Richard and his children live uncomfortably since he became disabled and lost his house. Richard used to be a long haul trucker and a law enforcement officer. He quit high school to join the Army where they had him finish school and then take some college courses. He was involved in special operations which he can't talk about and we shared stories about that because my husband was also in special ops (Navy) during the same war (Viet Nam) which he can't talk about.

"Shoot." I said.

"Okay. I get government benefits, including food stamps and social security for my kids. But the government wants you to work. I want to work. However, if I go to work, my benefits are cut by the amount of money I make. So it's a vicious circle and I can't get out of here. Now, when you work and get Social Security, they still let you get your benefits up to a certain ceiling. I think that they should let you keep your benefits for at least two years, and let you bank the difference so that you can save enough money to get out of subsidized housing. People here work, most of them, and the rest want to. But if you get a job, your benefits get cut so you can't get ahead.

"Listen, when you apply for a Habitat house, they assign you a financial advisor who helps you work things out. They could do the same here. They could give you someone to help you put the money in the bank, invest it in something, monitor it so you wouldn't spend it, help you save it, so that at the end of your two years you would have something. I know people don't always know how to save, but if someone was to show them how, I think they would do it. And then, at the end of those two years, the benefits would go or would be reduced and people could then have enough to move to their own place and out of government housing."

I admitted it sounded like a plan. The beginnings of one, anyway, and workable with some other checks and balances. A truly compassionate way to both educate people and help them off the dole and make them get a leg up into the working and perhaps middle class. Is anyone listening? If they are, contact me, please.

"I've written letters to all my representatives and senators. They wrote me back but said they didn't have time to think about this now. The only time they have time to consider stuff like this is in an election year but still I can't get an answer back where I think they even listen to me."

Richard's eldest daughter banged out the front door again.

"Your father's a pretty smart man," I told her, something no teenager wants to hear.

She cocked one eyebrow at me, glanced at her father and then rode off on her bike. He laughed.

I got up out of my chair and told Richard that I had to finish my rounds and that I knew my canvassing partner would wonder where I had gotten to. I handed him some literature. I showed him where Obama's website was and urged him to log on and perhaps blog some of his ideas. I told him that I thought if Obama became president there just might be a chance that some of his ideas might get a listen to. And I told him I would do what I could.

Richard is just an ordinary man, stuck in an unlucky place. Someone I might never have met if not for luck, chance, or what might be called a series of unconscious twists, turns, choices, encounters, decisions.....who knows? But he's an intelligent and proud man who only wishes to be able to turn his life around. Even those whom fate has swept to the sidelines haven't lost their belief in the American dream.

I wonder how author Leonard Mlodinow would calculate the odds on Richard G. Truth is, there but for the curlicued whimsy of fate go I.

Rachel Farris: What the Bottom Falling Out Looks Like in Texas

2008-10-28T09:35:04Z

Back in August, I wrote a blog entry about a stifling hot day when I blockwalked for Democrats running in Bastrop County -- pols including Larry Joe Doherty, Chris Duggan and Donnie Dippel, the Democratic nominee for State Representative in Texas, District 17. The volunteers all met at a local precinct chair's house, and the candidates gave a quick pep talk before we hit the streets of Elgin. Shortly after the talk, Dippel and Duggan were good-spirited enough to pose for a photo with my OBAMA license plates, which I then posted on my blog.

Imagine my surprise yesterday when I received a scanned copy of an attack ad against Donnie Dippel, featuring cropped-for-con artist version of my own copyrighted photo, showing only Donnie Dippel posing with my plates -- with no photo credits or permission from me.

Click to enlarge.

When my four tires got slashed a month ago, I was irritated at having to pay a $500 deductible but felt as though my plates were still something to be proud of and that the slashing was almost a badge of honor. Since then, I have tried to be more vigilant when I'm walking in my apartment parking lot, particularly at night -- not necessarily scared, but more aware.

But I find this attack ad on two candidates whom I have met and admire -- Barack Obama and Donnie Dippel -- to be not only objectionable for illegally using my photo but, more important, the most deceptive and reprehensible kind of campaign tactics. Dippel's opponent, Tim Kleinschmidt, is an attorney who has evidently decided that the copyright laws do not apply to him. Texans have had enough immorality and above-the-law politicians in the Texas House. There is no need to vote for another one of them, someone deceitful in the campaign who will be worse once elected.

Kleinschmidt claims that he doesn't support one of the most immoral Texas House leaders, Tom Craddick, and yet the Craddick cookie-jar "Stars Over Texas PAC" has given Kleinschmidt's campaign $25,000. What's more, Kleinschmidt's own Republican base is having second thoughts about Craddick. Republican committeeman Mark McCaig wrote a guest column in the Statesman yesterday calling for Craddick to step down as Speaker, citing Craddick's "ethical cloud" as having "cast a shadow" over Craddick's Republican leadership in the Texas House.

This election has come down to baseless Republicans like Tim Kleinschmidt using my personal property for their high-gloss smear campaigns. It's a testament to Donnie Dippel's hardworking, honest practices that the worst thing Kleinschmidt can think of is to tie him to Barack Obama, who leads by double-digits across the polls. I suppose Kleinschmidt doesn't want anyone who is considering voting for Obama to vote for him. Nevertheless, I believe in my volunteer efforts for these Democrats -- not because they are Democrats but because they are honest, intelligent and have a sincere desire to change the way our country works -- should not be slandered in a political ad. And while Kleinschmidt may be proud of himself for stealing from a local progressive blogger (who eats BBQ at Southside and used to trailer her horses to the Elgin Veterinary Clinic for their check-ups) he's clearly ignorant or unsympathetic to the fact that this kind of campaigning leads to the violence that I experienced when my tires were slashed.

My direct statement to Mr. Kleinschmidt, if I ever saw him out in the district, would be this: It is reprehensible that you have chosen to steal my volunteering experience to manipulate it for your negative ads. But more vile, and what is ultimately more important, is the moral code you have that would allow you to do that.

Click here to contribute to the Donnie Dippel campaign.

Pam Atherton: Ignore the Negative Ads; Watch How He Treats His Wife

2008-10-28T08:07:31Z

Today when I got home after lunch I had two pieces of mail from the Republican Party of New Mexico. I think I've gotten 5 or 7 pieces from these folks in the last week. They all feature pictures of Obama on them, citing things such as "Obama: he acted more as a friend to criminals than to cops..." and "Barack Obama. Not who you think he is."

Normally I just trash the junk and don't read it. Who REALLY reads political mail anyway? I don't think it does a darn thing to change minds. Maybe it just reinforces beliefs, but I don't think for a minute it changes any of them.

But looking at these pieces of true junk mail, it reminded me of something my old boss used to say about marketing: "When you are talking about the other guy, you're wasting valuable time not talking about yourself."

There are those marketing geniuses who will tell you that negative marketing works. I'm here to tell you that this election, nothing could be further from the truth.

I was shopping in Walgreen's tonight (Bargain Alert-they have bubble mailers at 3/$1.00) and I ran into a woman I know who works in advertising at the local newspaper. I didn't know her political beliefs, so I kept away from that subject, but in the course of the conversation, she brought it up.

Turns out her son came home from school today saying if he could vote, he would vote for McCain, because Obama was a Muslim and didn't love America. She was shocked to find that her son had heard that at school... from one of the TEACHERS. (that's a story for another time).

Now that I knew we had common ground, we stood in the aisle of the store for at least 30 minutes talking politics. She is a life-long Republican, but was voting for Obama, happily. Why? Because she saw from reading the newswires how the rest of the world perceived us. She read how other countries respected Obama. And she believed that we needed to raise our country's reputation throughout the world, and find friends and allies. This is something that a Maverick, intent on "bucking the system" would not, could not, do.

She told me that she believed Obama could do that. Why? Because of his calm and thoughtful demeanor. Because his time was spent talking about bringing people together, not wasted trashing McCain. Because of the way he spoke to people on the campaign trail. Because of the respect he showed his wife.

Respect he showed his wife? How he talked to people on the campaign trail? What did that have to do with what kind of a president he would be?

Actually, I understood what she meant. And to me, it spoke volumes. Years ago, when I would go out on a date, my mother would tell me, "Watch how he treats the waitress. Does he tip well? Watch how he treats his secretary. Is he respectful to her?"

My mother believed that these were quick ways to assess the measure of a man. I think her advice holds true today, whether it's a date or a guy who is hoping to gain political office. Anybody can put on party manners for the camera, but what are they like underneath the show? True compassion is obvious in the clasp of a hand; respect in the affection for one's spouse. And isn't that what we want in a leader? Someone who respects us, our needs, our hopes and desires? Someone who respects differences, but tries to find the best solution for all parties involved?

I know that's what I want in a leader. I'm tired of war and hate and deceit and duplicity. And I'm tired of negative campaigning.

One of the most negative guys on the ballot these days is one of the candidates trying to fill the seat of retiring U.S. Senator Pete Domenici. His name is Steve Pearce, and he is just plain one unhappy guy. I get all his campaign stuff and it's always negative.

That's why it was such a breath of fresh air today to meet with his opponent on the ballot, Congressman Tom Udall. Tom is as straight forward, honest and regular of a guy you could ever hope to meet. His campaign has refused to follow the negative model. He doesn't need to. He is very well-respected in New Mexico, because he says what he means, and he walks the walk.

He is a huge supporter of our military, and it's not campaign rhetoric. I was just told a story last week of how another life-long Republican was going to vote Democrat. Seems their son had been over in Iraq for a several months and because of some snafu, had not received a paycheck. No one they had contacted could help them. Not the military. Not Pearce's office. No one. Until, out of desperation, they decided to call Tom Udall's office. Within 10 days the soldier had a paycheck.

I have known Tom Udall for many years. I have had the pleasure of interviewing him at length about politics, his family and his personal life. I have immense respect for Rep. Udall because he is a man of his word. And many, many people, of both political affiliations, will say the same thing. He is truly a man who follows his conscience. He was one of the first, and only, opponents of the Patriot Act. He felt it was subverting the U.S. Constitution. It was not a popular position for him to take, but it was one in which he strongly believed. And one that time has shown to be correct.

Negative Advertising? Not from Tom Udall. His works speak for him. His friends and campaigners speak for him. They love him. Because he has the handclasp of compassion, and I've seen the respect for his wife.

And no piece of negative political junk mail in the world can change my mind. I don't think it will truly change anyone's. Instead, it just shows how hateful and divisive the political candidates who use negative campaigning are.

So I invite you to throw out the negative junk mail and watch the candidates in those quiet moments. Did he thank the waitress? Did he listen to the child? Is he nice to the reporter? Does he show affection for his wife?

I respectfully submit that those are the clues to the true measure of a man.

Caroline Presno: The Fringe Right Bubble is Bursting

2008-10-27T15:49:25Z

Americans are living though a new era of "pop" culture. First, the inflated financial bubble popped on Wall Street. Now the fringe Right bubble is bursting on main street.

During the Carter administration in which the economy suffered double digit inflation, the air was let out of old time liberalism. Reagan, Bush and more Bush brought pins to the table along with a thousand points of light and burst it.

In between, a changed and improved "liberalism" emerged. The new progressivism is a perfect fit for postmodern times and the American people. Bill Clinton ushered in an era of social justice tempered by fiscal responsibility. His ideology was mitigated by a situational approach to problem solving. In governing, Clinton practiced political moderation, even though the extremes sometimes took him over in his personal life.

The Clinton administration, however, could not complete the change. In politicking, they were required to fight the fringe on their turf. The obsessive-compulsive focus on scandal, the us vs. them mentality, the demonizing, and the-truth-is-the-truth-because-I-said-it attitude.

During the Bush/Dukakis campaign, the fringe Right voice emerged with the Willie Horton ads. During the Clinton administration, the fringe salivated over scandal and became emboldened. During the Bush/Gore campaign, they got downright arrogant. During the Bush/Kerry campaign they got outright giddy. To the disbelief and downfall of Kerry and his campaign, the swift boating stuck.

Thus developed a sense of invincibility leading the fringe to go this far and this low. Why not? It had always worked before, so they pushed on and pumped it up with an absurd litany -- pigs and lipstick; Bill Ayers; the socialist/tax-and-spend liberal label; pro-America vs. anti-America...

Everyone expects hot air in politics, however the air got so rank that the country began to suffocate under a paranoid and divisive mentality. In this climate, a domino effect took hold; the fringe Right bubble was too close to the Wall Street bubble when it burst. One took the other down.

Now we have Republicans, Democrats, and Independents walking away from and speaking out against extreme rhetoric and deeds. The country is ready for an Obama administration that will provide us with a sense of moderation; a fusion of ideas; a patriotic, yet global perspective; and a sense of unity in a diverse culture.

John Bruhns: Congressman Wolf's Henchmen

2008-10-27T09:47:29Z

It appears as if Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA) just had his Macaca moment -- sort of -- but worse.

Staffers from Judy Feder's campaign were assaulted when attempting to ask Mr. Wolf a simple question. Mr. Wolf stood by idly and did nothing.

See the full story at Raising Kaine.

Brian Ross: Prominent Republicans Invoke the Holocaust to Win Jewish Votes in Pa

2008-10-27T09:03:33Z

This is the week that John McCain and the Republicans will be throwing the kitchen sink at Barack Obama and the Democrats. It has reached a new low. An email that was sent to Jewish voters invoked fears of the Holocaust to stampede them away from Obama at the polls next week.

According to JTA, a global Jewish news service:

The e-mail, after extolling McCain's record and questioning U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's commitment to Israel -- as well as his associations with William Ayers and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright -- says that "Jewish Americans cannot afford to make the wrong decision on Tuesday, November 4th, 2008. Many of our ancestors ignored the warning signs in the 1930s and 1940s and made a tragic mistake. Let's not make a similar one this year."

The letter, which might have gone out to as many as 75,000 Jewish voters, was signed by three prominent Jewish Republicans, including former Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice Sandra Schultz Newman, and Philadelphia Federation of Greater Philadelphia former chairman I. Michael Coslov.

Democratic U.S. senator Bob Casey and Montgomery County Democratic state Rep. Josh Shapiro demanded Saturday that McCain speak to this outrage, as he has promised repeatedly on national television he would do if someone was doing things in his name that were not in keeping with his own point of view.

While McCain and the national campaign have yet to speak on the letter, when news of it hit the local media and MSNBC over the weekend, the Pennsylvania McCain campaign disavowed it.

"This individual never worked for our campaign and that sort of rhetoric has no place in it," said Paul Lindsay, a McCain-Palin spokesman.

According to various media sources, the author of the letter is a Jewish Republican political operative named Bryan G. Rudnick, president and CEO of Alliance Strategies Group (ASG) in Boca Raton, FLA. which his ZoomInfo.com bio identifies as a company which engages in "strategic planning, political consulting, and communications, with an emphasis on public relations and crisis management."

The AP reached Rudnick over the weekend, and reported:

Political consultant Bryan Rudnick was identified as the person responsible for it. Rudnick, reached Saturday night, confirmed that he no longer works for the party, which employed him a few weeks ago as a consultant to do outreach to Jewish voters.

"I had authorization from party officials" to send the e-mail, Rudnick said, but he declined to say who had signed off on it. "I'm not looking to drag anyone else through the mud, so I'm not naming names right now," he said.

Rudnick claimed he was a consultant for the Republican Federal Committee of Pennsylvania, but no Federal Election Commission (FEC) documents within the last 90 days for the verify this. He was fired recently after a $5 million ad campaign for Let Freedom Ring that ran in mid-October in Georgia apparently backfired as well.

His client list, according to ASG's website, includes the Minutemen Project, the group that watches the border with Mexico, and Katherine Harris, the former U.S. Congresswoman and Florida Secretary of State who presided over the election fiasco in 2001.

A blogger named "Mrs Pantsteppon" at Talking Points Memo (TPM) researched Rudnick and has found:

"ASG handled a $5 million ad campaign for Let Freedom Ring that ran in mid-October. Let Freedom Ring is a rabid right wing 501(c)(4) almost entirely funded by John Templeton, son of the founder of Templeton Funds, who lives in West Chester PA.

Templeton, a major contributor to Swift Boat Vets, also contributed $800k to the College Republican National Committee within the last six months."

Rudnick claims to have "founded and served as Chairman of the Massachusetts Citizens for Marriage, a ballot committee organized to support the passage of the Massachusetts Protection of Marriage Amendment." He is a graduate of Valley Forge Military Academy and Brandeis. He lists notably the American Association of Political Consultants and the Association of Former Intelligence Officers, as organizations to which he belongs.

The McCain campaign has been struggling to change polling numbers that suggest that Jewish voters now tend to favor Mr. Obama. The operative, who was described by the source as "too extreme" to be picked up by the local McCain camp in South Florida, has worked as a political operative for groups within the Republican Party.

Using a carpet-bagger operative is nothing new in politics. It allows the local campaign to disavow, while still reaping the benefit of engaging in the slimy scare tactics.

It would seem highly unlikely that the operative, who is a paid political consultant, was operating on his own. The reaction to his handiwork was mixed.

JTA reports:

In the Philadelphia Jewish community, there appeared to be much consternation over the fact that Coslov signed on to the letter. Coslov is widely assumed to become the next federation president.

Some community leaders who are active Democrats called the letter "despicable." Republican partisans tended to brush it off as "politics as usual."

The Guardian reports that the email also threw in the kitchen sink catch-all of voter fraud;

The e-mail also alleged that presidential candidate Barack Obama taught members of a community group "to commit voter registration fraud."

The letter continued to beat the drum on Ayers and ACORN as well, working the Attwater/Rove theory that a lie told repeatedly takes on the air of truth.

The letter has caused reaction world-wide from here to the UK to Israel, but has barely made a dent in the American mainstream media.

I am told that the Republican operative who conducted the smear campaign is back in Florida. The question is: Where will he go next? As quickly as guys like this are "fired" they often find themselves back in another state in the dirty tricks game working business-as-usual.

Until the McCain campaign publicly repudiates the action, and the author, they are as liable for it as if John McCain or Sarah Palin wrote it themselves, in my opinion.

Menachem Rosensaft: McCarthyism Redux: The McCain Campaign's Calumny Express

2008-10-27T08:13:57Z

"Those of us who shout the loudest about Americanism are all too frequently those who, by our own words and acts, ignore some of the basic principles of Americanism."

While these words seem tailor made for the divisive rhetoric of the McCain campaign, they were actually spoken more than 58 years ago on the floor of the United States Senate by Republican Senator Margaret Chase Smith from Maine in her historic repudiation of the vicious character assassinations hurled by Senator Joseph McCarthy against countless Americans. Speaking on behalf of herself and six other Republican Senators, she said that, "The American people are sick and tired of being afraid to speak their minds lest they be politically smeared as 'Communists' or 'Fascists' by their opponents."

The more popular epithets emanating from present-day Republican apparatchiks and the other flacks associated with the 2008 McCain campaign are "terrorist," "Muslim," and "anti-American," but their intent is the same as the red scare labels used so effectively by their McCarthyite role models: to depict their political adversaries generally, and Barack Obama specifically, as somehow dangerous, subversive, even evil.

The following are only a few examples:

• Sarah Palin has repeatedly - and falsely - accused Barack Obama of "palling around with terrorists." This charge is particularly reprehensible because both she and John McCain know full well that Obama only had, to use Colin Powell's description, a "very, very limited relationship" with Bill Ayers on the board of a respected Republican-funded educational foundation in Chicago, and that Obama has repeatedly referred to Ayers as "somebody who engaged in detestable acts 40 years ago, when I was 8."

• The Republican National Committee has been sending around a mailer with the image of what looks like a plane about to crash into a building and the menacing words "Terrorists - Don't Care Who They Hurt" on the cover. The inside of the mailer contains an oversized picture of Barack Obama and the words "Barack Obama. Not Who You Think He Is." When McCain was shown this brochure in Missouri earlier this week and asked if he was proud of it, he replied, "Absolutely."

• The McCain campaign and the RNC have launched a scurrilous automated telephonic robocall campaign charging "that Barack Obama has worked closely with domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, whose organization bombed the U.S. Capitol, the Pentagon, a judge's home, and killed Americans."

• Craig S. MacGlashan, the chairman of the Sacramento Republican Party in Northern California, posted a photograph of Senator Obama alongside one of Osama bin Laden on his group's website with the explanation, "The only difference between Obama and Osama is B.S." and "Waterboard Barack Obama." (This material was removed from the website after protests from Democrats and Republicans, but MacGlashan has yet to apologize or retract his unsubtle message.)

• "Who is the real Barack Obama?" McCain asked at a rally in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on October 6th. When the crowd loudly and clearly responded, "Terrorist," McCain smiled and went on with his speech. He had gotten the reaction he wanted. McCain, his campaign and the RNC keep asking the rhetorical question, "Who Is Barack Obama?" in speeches and ads as a fear mongering tactic. Every once in a while, McCain pulls back and reprimands a supporter who has gotten his message, but these are the exceptions. On the whole, McCain and Palin seem to revel in their crowds' vehemence. Sarah Palin has never, not once, reprimanded any of her fans who shout "traitor" or "kill him" when she mentions Obama's name in her stump speech.

• Sarah Palin has referred to those parts of the country that support her and John McCain as the "pro-America areas of this great nation."

• Jeffrey M. Frederick, the Chairman of the Virginia Republican Party, has likened Barack Obama to Osama bin Laden in a pep talk to campaign volunteers, explaining that "Both have friends that bombed the Pentagon. That is scary."

• Minnesota Republican Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann first told Chris Matthews on MSNBC's Hardball that she was "very concerned" that Senator Obama "may have anti-American views," and then went on to say that "I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and find out: Are they pro-America or anti-America?"

• North Carolina Republican Congressman Robin Hayes from North Carolina told a crowd that "liberals hate real Americans that work and achieve and believe in God."

• Marcia Stirman, the chair of the Otero County Republican Women in New Mexico, wrote in the in the Alamogordo Daily News that "I believe Muslims are our enemies," and that "Obama isn't a messiah or a Democrat. He's a Muslim socialist."

• Republican U.S. Senator Mel Martinez from Florida denounced Obama's economic policies as "Socialism, Communism, not Americanism."

Any one of these incidents, viewed in isolation, might be dismissed as an aberration. Together, they form a disquieting, unmistakable pattern.

Most recently, we also witnessed the McCain campaign's unseemly eagerness to promote the crude hoax that a six foot four African American attacked a white female volunteer. Even John Moody, the Executive Vice President of Fox News, was uncharacteristically suspicious. "If the incident turns out to be a hoax," Moody warned when the story first came out, "Senator McCain's quest for the presidency is over, forever linked to race-baiting." Peter Feldman, the McCain campaign's Pennsylvania communications director, showed no such reticence when he urged at least two local Pittsburgh television stations, KDKA and WPXI, to feature a racially charged version of this train wreck, complete with fictional charges that the non-existent attacker had told the young woman that, "You're with the McCain campaign? I'm going to teach you a lesson," and that the backward "B" carved into her cheek supposedly stood for Barack. Much to the hapless Mr. Feldman's probable chagrin, it did not take long for the woman to confess that she had made the whole thing up, but by then, the Drudge Report and right wing radio talk show hosts had run with the sensationalist news flash.

Occasionally even the Republican trash machine realizes it has gone too far and they retreat a little. An email message from the Pennsylvania Republican Party's "Victory 2008" committee to Jewish voters in Pennsylvania that equated voting for Barack Obama with the "tragic mistake" of European Jews who "ignored the warning signs of the 1930s and 1940s" was repudiated by the state party, and the flack who had drafted the e-mail was fired because "he definitely went a little bit farther than the facts would support." Whew. We finally know the GOP's line in the sand. Comparing Obama to Osama bin Laden is ok, but summoning up Hitler is beyond the pale. Thank you so much for enlightening us.

In her 1950 Declaration of Conscience, Margaret Chase Smith said that "I don't want to see the Republican Party ride to political victory on the Four Horsemen of Calumny -- Fear, Ignorance, Bigotry and Smear." John McCain, Sarah Palin and the Republican Party have knowingly resurrected these demons with a vengeance. We must not, we cannot let them get away with it.

Menachem Rosensaft, a lawyer in New York City, is the Founding Chairman of the International Network of Children of Jewish Holocaust Survivors

Ari Melber: Obama Launches Portal to Expose GOP Attacks

2008-10-24T11:49:02Z

There's a new meme in the presidential race: The Internet is helping expose dirty tricks, enhance campaign accountability and punish the purveyors of dog whistle sleaze. Web luminaries from Arianna Huffington to Micah Sifry pushed that argument this week. The Obama campaign agrees.

On Friday, Obama's new media office launched an initiative to identify and expose any last-minute, below-the-radar attacks on the Democratic nominee. A web portal, Radar.BarackObama.com, tracks attacks, anonymous robocalls and solicits reports from supporters around the country, "anchor[ing]" an "expansive campaign to push back on McCain's unceasing negativity," according to a campaign aide. (The campaign is also touting offline pushback in key states, pointing to recent events in Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Indiana and West Virginia.)

Of course, Obama's aides have been countering attacks for the whole campaign, online and off, including another open-source portal, FightTheSmears.com. Radar is distinct, however, because it maps and measures Republican attacks, showing the public (and the press) exactly how much Republicans are relying on robocalls, mailers and attacks in the homestretch. The site aims to expose every "toxic attack" designed "to quietly poison voters' information with lies and fear tactics." A U.S. map provides an indictment of Sen. John McCain, the site contends, by displaying attacks "which are approved by the McCain campaign or its Republican partners" (emphasis in original). The map:

As it happens, TalkingPointsMemo, a site that has fused journalism and new media activism, unveiled a similar map this week, titled "Flying Under The Radar: The Map of GOP Sleaze."

In the new era of web-driven politics, nothing stays below the radar for long, which can pose a bigger problem for hypocritical and deceitful candidates. For months, McCain proudly lectured voters about how he runs honest, honorable campaigns. Yet new media scrutiny has exposed his use of the same lies, smears and tricks that helped sour the nation on the Republican politics of Rove. For some voters, the revulsion with McCain's last-minute smears may be especially acute, once they know that he is employing the very operatives who launched hateful, racist smears and lies about his family in 2000. That is not only hypocritically dishonorable, by definition; it also smacks of an unseemly desperation.

Tom Gerdy: McCain/Palin -- Unifiers At Work

2008-10-23T17:55:08Z

I want to be one of the first to congratulate and thank the John McCain and Sarah Palin team for the work they have done to unify our country. Like most of the country, my first reaction to the Republican ticket and the tactics being employed was that they were attempting to tear the country apart. I figured that their plan was to create divisions between virtually everyone so they would be able to sneak in the back door and get elected. Just this week the reality hit me. John McCain and Sarah Palin are kind of like secret double agents.

The secret double agent plan started with Sarah's selection. With several good choices to fill the VP slot on the ticket, the McCain machine decides to pick an unqualified unknown "regular hockey mom" with questionable experience and a shady background. The whole double agent plan at first seemed to backfire. There was a short post convention bump that made some people think that they were trying to divide us. Luckily within days, their plan started to work. As more and more information surfaced about Sarah, many people started to realize that they better herd up in Obama's camp.

As the days passed, we were amazed as wacky story after wacky story surfaced. The short list includes the Bridge To Nowhere, Troopergate, rape kit charges, at home per diem expenses charged to the state, taking a road trip after her water broke, hiding from the public and the press, charging the state for her children's road trips, pre-Sarah debt free Wasilla to post-Sarah Wasilla millions in debt, lawyers making thousands upon thousands everywhere she went, and the Ted Stevens connection. Remember, that's the short list. The $150,000 wardrobe tab and $13,200 make-up bill last month helped kill the "regular hockey mom" image and drive a few more people away.

At the same time we watched the Alaskan circus, John was pretending to be running for president and trying to get votes. The reality was that he was working on his plan to unite our country. He was driving people away from the Republican party by the thousands. He was also helping uncommitted voters make up their minds by becoming extremely erratic and unpredictable. Frequently displaying moments of faux anger and confusion continued to help voters question his ability to handle the pressures of the presidency. Constantly referring to everyone as "my friends" also really started to get on people's nerves.

One of the most brilliant moments in his unification plan was when John said he didn't know how many houses he owned and he would have his people get back to us. Talk about a gutsy move! This supposedly "regular" guy separated himself from the rest of the country because everyone else in America knows how many houses they own. More people flocked to the Obama camp.

As the campaign headed down the stretch, John's people realized that they still had way too much support and the country was still divided. Pulling out all stops in an effort to unify the country, John started to act like a poo flinging monkey. The bigger the distortion the better... attack-attack-attack! Nothing drives people away faster than lies, distortions and attacks. Throw in a few flubbed/self conflicting talking points and pretty soon even your own party starts to jump ship.

So say what you will about John and Sarah, but I want to thank them for driving the people of our country together. I am certain when all is said and done, the history books will tell the unbelievable tale of the unification efforts of John McCain and Sarah Palin.

Stephen C. Rose: The Big Lie At The Heart Of McCain's Ayers Campaign

2008-10-20T11:31:21Z

Yesterday I ran the following on my blog:

Tom Brokaw and every other journalist I have seen or read has neglected the following qualification from Bill Ayers which I have published at least twice before in this blog. It is a crucial qualification and the MSM has been shameful to ignore it. I know I am not in the loop of those blogs which are typically referenced by the MSM. But any of these high-profile bloggers could have found the same information and seen its importance. SOURCE

I'm often quoted saying that I have "no regrets." This is not true. For anyone paying attention--and I try to stay wide-awake to the world around me all/ways--life brings misgivings, doubts, uncertainty, loss, regret. I'm sometimes asked if I regret anything I did to oppose the war in Viet Nam, and I say "no, I don't regret anything I did to try to stop the slaughter of millions of human beings by my own government." Sometimes I add, "I don't think I did enough." This is then elided: he has no regrets for setting bombs and thinks there should be more bombings.

I have since found a MSM reference to the Ayer's blog and this quote -- in an April 17 Washington Post blog piece. SOURCE

So I stand corrected. The truth was out.

Ayers did not say he wished they had bombed more.

We would not expect the McCain Campaign, or its FOX flaks, to care about a crucial and subtle distinction. But heft is what matters in battles over truth. We need pieces now that make the distinction until the likes of MSNBC stop propagating the no regrets about bombing lie.

Ayers has said consistently that he regrets more was not done to end the war. This is a regret all Americans can share. To have this regret is not a sign of being anti-American.

In a deep sense, this election really is about turning the page on the thinking that would divide us by whether we have regrets about Vietnam. Or Iraq. Or war period. When last I looked, there was a right to consciously object and even to refuse to serve.

One can be a conscientious objector and be fully an American and be fully supportive of our veterans and appreciate their sacrifice. Sadly, though, we seem skewed toward an uncritical form of patriotism that would not allow the nuanced statement of William Ayers to rise above the level of a despicable excuse.

Whatever you may think of Ayers' statement, its distortion by McCain amounts to a big lie. The entire McCain-RNC robocall initiative contributes to a venomous sort of polarization that may warm the cockles of the MSM's immature heart, but which can lead to lethal harm. The Weathermen were products of such polarization. It is a supreme irony that the source of such polarization is now the McCain campaign.

Some day there will be a movement to end war that goes beyond a marginal, minority status. When that movement succeeds, our Defense Department will be devoted to defense more than to aggression. And we will not uncritically invest the bulk of our dollars in an effort to fight wars that are essentially unwinnable.

Turning the page means opening up the possibility of a better way, one which sees things as a spectrum rather than in terms of good and bad, black and white. And it means looking at the actions of a William Ayers objectively and not rather than through the lens of political opportunism.

The McCain-RNC robocall initiative moves that sorry aggregation ever closer to the end of the spectrum that leads to the very jaws of hell.

Stephen H. Dinan: Sharing the Obama Love

2008-10-16T13:30:53Z

With the final debate chalked as a win in the Obama column, a commanding lead both in the national polls and key swing states, as well as an unprecedented ground campaign, Obama could not be better positioned for a march to victory.

What is vital in the following weeks is that those of us who support him shift into a new mode. Not in the direction of relaxing, getting cocky, or assuming it is all over. Rather, the shift is in moving beyond attacks and critiques of McCain and Palin or even George Bush, towards sharing our authentic love for Obama and what his presidency will mean not only for us but for future generations and the world.

There are certainly strategic reasons for this shift. The more magnetic, joy-filled, excited, and infectious the campaign is at this point, the more likely we can increase participation and voter turnout, as well as draw undecideds into the fold. Everyone wants to be part of making history and America loves a winning team. Fostering that sense of a celebratory, joyful movement can draw people out of the cynicism and hopelessness that has kept so much of our electorate disengaged in the past.

The key, though, is that this excitement can't just be media hype or strategy. It needs to be authentic.

That's where each of our love comes in. As we share openly and vulnerably with friends, neighbors and co-workers what we love about Obama and what his presidency will mean, we allow people to shift from policies and parties, attack ads and critiques into real human connection. That real human connection is essential for us to move beyond bitter partisanship to the kind of unity that will be required for an Obama presidency to face the current challenges of America.

That said, I feel a bit shy about sharing my authentic love for Obama. The truth is that when I imagine him in the White House with Michelle, tears come to my eyes every time. I see that moment as a revolution in the heart of America; we will have broken the final link that has bound us to a history of slavery and racial division. Even more than that, we will have a true world citizen as our leader, a man with profound roots in other countries that do not diminish his love and loyalty to America.

When I first read Dreams from My Father, long before he had declared his candidacy and just after he began to emerge on the national stage, I was touched by Obama's vulnerability, impressed with his intellectual depth, and moved by his spiritual journey. I instinctively knew that, when the time was right, he would be our President. Even then, the prospect of what that would mean for America and the world would crack open my heart and make me weep.

There is a nobility about Obama that restores my faith in our political process. He reminds me of previous eras in which we expected our political leaders to be exemplars of dignity. Not just people who we would imagine having a beer with or someone to "fight for us" but someone who we can genuinely admire and hold up as role models for ourselves and our children. His composure during the debates has reinforced this feeling of nobility. When offered opportunities to belittle McCain or Palin, he almost always defers and acts with the decency we have long craved in a politician.

The more I read about and watch Obama, the better a man I feel called to be. Truly. I have spoken with friends about asking the question, "What would Obama do?" in moments when I am angry about someone's behavior or polarized against another opinion. He does not react to situations and people. He is thoughtful, measured, respectful, and loving, even around those with whom he disagrees. He can simultaneously hold strong progressive positions and find respectful common ground with conservative ones.

Obama also embodies the American dream, from his humble roots to the upper echelons of prestige and power. He shines with the intellectual brilliance of a Harvard Law scholar while he also radiates the compassion of a man of faith who has served the poorest of the poor. That combination transcends divisions of class since he has been intimate with every echelon of American society.

His relationship with Michelle is also inspiring to behold. In each gesture and word, it is clear that he respects her deeply and holds her as full equal, sometimes with the self-deprecating sense that she truly is his better half. That does not mean there are not challenges; the path he has chosen demands extraordinary sacrifice from the family and he is transparent in his books about the strain that has put on her. But as an example of true loving partnership between two remarkable beings, I see few other examples that go beyond them.

Although parodied on the right, there is an authentic sense that Obama has become a spiritual leader in addition to being a political leader, something we have not seen in a long time in national politics. He is a spiritual leader without rhetoric or dogma, without even speaking much about our relationship with God, Spirit, or the Divine. He is a spiritual leader by virtue of his enlightened demeanor, the deep moral clarity in his positions, and his integration of head, heart, and soul. He does not talk about holiness but there is a strong scent of it about him.

In short, I love Obama. Truly. Not to the point of blindness or lock-step agreement on policy issues. Not to the point where I don't sometimes have moments of frustration. But there is something authentic, deep, and powerful that has welled up within me from the moment he emerged on the national stage and that has grown through the books, articles, and breathtaking speeches. The love has deepened as I hear about how he manages his campaign and the myriad ways he has inspired a whole new generation. Obama is here to not only help us be a better country, but inspire each of us to be better people. And that is the kind of change that endures beyond campaigns, Presidential terms, and economic crises.

It is time for each of us to share publicly and vulnerably our most heartfelt impressions of this man and what his presidency will mean for America. That is a gift that we can each give to make this campaign reverberate with the hope, excitement and love that can carry America beyond our current challenges into a bright new day.

Dems Use FBI's Wiretap Against Stevens In New Ad

2008-10-13T10:43:44Z

It won't likely be crowed the flashiest ad of the season, but the latest television spot produced by Democrats fighting the reelection of Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens is potent anyway.

With Stevens under investigation for several months -- and currently on trial -- for lying on his Senate disclosure forms about gifts possibly worth as much as $250,000, new information has leaked out that requires little finessing from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which is trying to put Anchorage Mayor Marc Begich's campaign over the hump.

As the Anchorage Daily News reported last week, the FBI wiretapped several of Stevens's communications with the CEO of the company that performed extensive, unreported renovations on the Senator's home.

"You know, they're not going to shoot us. It's not Iraq. What the hell? The worst that can be done, the worst that can happen to us is we round up a bunch of legal fees and might lose and we might have to pay a fine, might have to serve a little time in jail," Stevens told Veco CEO Bill Allen in 2006. I hope to Christ it never gets to that, and I don't think it will. But I'm developing the attitude that I don't think I did anything wrong so I'm going to go right through my life and keep doing what I think is right."

It's rare, when running an attack ad, to have the benefit of an opponent talking about the possibility of going to jail -- but that's just what Democrats have on their side this time around.

Watch it:

Still, the Senate race in Alaska is far from a slam-dunk for Democrats. According to the Pollster.com best-fit line of recent surveys, it's even tightened a bit in recent weeks. With Stevens's trial expected to conclude this week, however, there is still plenty of time for a few more twists and turns in the race.

Jesse Lee: 26 Days Out: Pay No Attention to the Embarrassingly Horrible Economic Plan Behind the Curtain

2008-10-09T12:21:57Z

Jesse Lee is the Online Rapid Response Manager for the DNC, this is a daily update on the day's messaging.

In McCain's latest attempt to appear competent or knowledgeable on the economy, during Tuesday's debate he announced his latest big, bold, erratic plan. He and his campaign spent the next day boasting about it. Then something happened -- everybody looked at it and realized it was awful, as an Obama campaign memo and ad today explain:

Your favorite and mine, Brad DeLong gives arguably the definitive take-down:

Brad DeLong, New York Daily News: "John McCain's new foreclosure plan is a giveaway to the banks... Put this in perspective. Under the just-passed $700 billion bailout bill, the Federal Housing Administration is already charged with guaranteeing and refinancing up to $300 billion of mortgages. But there is a big difference between that and what McCain proposes. What we already have requires that the bank get only 85% of the face value back. Under the deal McCain is offering, the banks could get back 100%. Why do they deserve it? ...Out of the blue, McCain has just proposed a large, no-strings-attached gift of taxpayer cash to bank executives who failed at their business of risk management, and to bank shareholders who failed at their business of hiring executives. That's simply corrupt."

Krugman: "John McCain's bailout plan manages to take everything that's wrong with the Paulson plan and make it worse."

And when your plan is too beneficial to the wealthy, irresponsible and/or crooked CEOs for even the Wall Street Journal editorial board and the National Review, you're reaching into new territory.

Wall Street Journal editorial: "The 'Resurgence' is different, the McCain campaign says, because it is more 'aggressive.' By this, it means that this one doesn't require lenders or investors to share the pain. Instead, the government will buy the mortgages for their full amount and write a new mortgage that reflects the current (lower) value of the home. The taxpayer -- not the lender or homeowner -- absorbs the losses on loans that exceed the value of the home."

National Review: "McCain's plan would also be a gift to lenders who abandoned any sense of prudence during the boom years. Under the Frank-Dodd bill, lenders must agree to 'take a haircut' -- slang for writing down the value of a mortgage -- in order to qualify for federal insurance on a distressed mortgage. The lender bears an initial loss but is protected if the borrower eventually defaults. McCain would transfer that initial loss to the taxpayers. Under his plan, the government would buy mortgage loans at face value and then reduce the principal and interest on these loans to accommodate distressed borrowers. Taxpayers would take so many haircuts we would all look like Britney Spears after a three-day bender."

What to do? Look over there, it's a stupid smear web ad! Let's talk about something else! Naturally Fox News agrees, like McCain economics has never been their big thing either. Obama spokesman Bill Burton patiently explained the situation to them this morning, starting off by asking, "Hey, I'm guessing you guys don't want to talk about the economy, huh?"

I never thought I'd say this, but perhaps John McCain should take David Frum's advice.

David Frum: "We conservatives are sending a powerful, inadvertent message with this negative campaign against Barack Obama's associations and former associations: that we lack a positive agenda of our own and that we don't care about the economic issues that are worrying American voters."

Wouldn't want anybody getting that idea.

Rick Horowitz: Palin, Goin' After Obama

2008-10-07T16:58:05Z

Let me see if I've got this straight: Sarah Palin is saying we don't know enough about Barack Obama?

Sarah Palin, who six weeks ago did not yet exist for 99 percent of the American people? Sarah Palin, whose biography even now consists of a handful of adjectives and anecdotes, half of which ("I said, 'Thanks, but no thanks'") are themselves distortions or outright fabrications?

Sarah Palin is saying we don't know enough about Barack Obama?!

That Sarah Palin?

That Sarah Palin.

She seems to have convinced herself that making it through one vice-presidential debate without doing any further damage to her reputation -- which is to say, without spontaneously combusting right there on stage -- now gives her sufficient standing to question Barack Obama's background, character, honesty, patriotism. Which she's only too happy to do, over and over again.

She doesn't think that's just a little bit screwy?

She doesn't think.