Jack Beatty on "On Point" this morning told me that the crowds are angry at Obama because of the economy.

How come he still has a job?

He was also outraged over Stephen Colbert a couple of years ago, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

Addiction is very hard to break and the corporate media has had a McCain's jones for the past 20 years. It's really hard to criticize your hero in the best of times, but when you're still addicted to a fantasy (McCain = maverick hero), it becomes harder to face reality and do your job. I don't expect that we'll see a harder stance on McCain from the corporate media until some blood is spilled or at least, a window broken.

What shocks me is Joe Klein's take on everything over the last month or so - he was so anti-Dem during the primaries...now he's tearing McCain a new one in all of his columns, especially about Palin!

Never thought I'd hear myself say this, but GO JOE KLEIN!!!

The real story is these people are despicable. This is a scorched earth policy, if I have ever seen one.

The McCain-Palin campaign will go down as one of the most odious, and luckily, one of the most incompetent campaigns in American History.

Greg,

Change Partly your headline to Largely.

One DB

Thank you, TPM. Now is the time for the grown-ups to stand up and step in. This is not a time to pussy-foot. It is not a time to sow chaos.

Please stay in this story. You can't sit on the sidelines when civility itself is on the ropes.

Why is the press making excuses for them? Why?

*sigh*

There is something very Nuremberg 1938 about McCain rallies right now.

Scares me.

Note 2 To News Orgs: SFCWallace is scared as fuck, and reeling by the way.

"Sarah Palin, Miss Alaska, is saying she doesn't know who Barack Obama really is. That's interesting because she also doesn't know who Sarkozy is, Gordon Brown, Kim Jong-Il, Hugo Chavez, Vladimir Putin, Osama bin Laden." --David Letterman

To the point about how dangerous the McCain-Palin baiting has become: It is starting to remind me of the atmosphere in Israel preceding Yitzhak Rabin's assassination.
As Haaretz has reported, "posters depicting [Rabin] as a Nazi distributed by extreme rightists in some instances, is often blamed for encouraging the assassination." Rabin, near the end, was subject to hateful epithets at his rallies.
For McCain and Palin to stand idly by while people at their rallies shout "kill him" and "terrorist," is, frankly, unconscionable.
Sen. McCain: You once accused Obama of being willing to lose a war in order to win an election. Are you yourself now willing to incite your followers' basest, even murderous, instincts to achieve the same end?

Its only be a matter of time when hear the 'N' word and only then the media will actually realize McCain-Palin rallies have gone too far.

In addition to moderate Republicans calling out McCain on this vile crap - where the fuck are Bill Clinton and Russ Feingold now???

After all the nice words those two have had about McCain during this campaign it's now their fucking responsibility to publicly and unequivically denounce McCain and Palin for firing up the mobs.

Russ Feingold in particular can go fuck himself forever if he doesn't.

It will only be a matter of time when we hear the 'N' word and only then the media will actually realize McCain-Palin rallies have gone too far.

Oilbama, who voted for the Bush Cheney Energy Bill, apparent role model of late is Bill Clinton.
With the economy in crisis and Election Day in sight, Obama can't say enough about the Clinton years- the job growth, the budget surpluses, the broad prosperity - and frequently praises the
former president's economic stewardship as a model. "We need to do what we did in the 1990s and create millions of new jobs and not lose them," he told 6,000 people in Abington, outside Philadelphia, last week. "We need to do what we did in the 1990s and make sure people's incomes are going up and not down. We need to do what a guy named Bill Clinton did in the 1990s and put people first again." Oilbamabots, who derided Bill Clinton as a Racist and proudly cheered while Oilbama media shills called Hillary a F*cking Wh*re, cheered. Oilbama's characterization of Clinton's presidency is markedly different than the one he offered during the Democratic primaries, when he was running against Clinton's wife, Senator Hillary Clinton. Oilbama argued that, despite the successes, Bill Clinton let some of the country's biggest problems fester while in the White House. The implication - that his two terms had not been indisputably positive for American families - was one the former president deeply resented. It was always a totally bullshit awkward argument to make, but one Oilbama felt he had to: After all, Hillary Clinton was running in part to revive her husband's economic legacy, which many Democrats recall fondly. Oilbama's fully embracing the 1990s would have been tantamount to embracing his opponent. Now, twofaced scumbag liar that Oilbama is, is offering a Clinton restoration to create a foil for what he calls the failed economic philosophies of President Bush and Oilbama's presidential rival, John McCain. "America can't take four more years of John McCain's George Bush policies," he said yesterday in Dayton, Ohio.
Oilbama proves once again he is a typical scumbag
politician who will say anything to get elected. How in the world can anyone trust his word on anything? If Oilbama truly cared about America he would have supported Hillary and waited his turn as VP underneath her.

Andrew Halcro's blog has the following quote posted:

A lot of people are apathetic about campaigns because you see a lot of the garbage that goes on in campaigns and the personal attacks and the character assassinations that are so unnecessary,” she said. “They’re useless; they detract from the issues.” Sarah Palin, Fairbanks Daily News Miner Editorial Board Interview, 2006

I wonder what flavor would be suitable enough for her to eat her own words?

McCain is pandering to the Timothy McVeigh wing of the fringe right. We should have seen this coming when he chose a veep candidate whose hubby is a member of what's basically a secessionist rightwing militia. Still, I'm surprised at just how far he's gone with this dangerous and divisive demonization.

Indeed--it's the fault of the "Impulsively Unreflective Duo"

From:

Head of State

http://headofstate.blogspot.com/2008/10/impulsively-unreflective-duo-inmccain.html

The Impulsively Unreflective Duo In..."McCain Goes Negative"

In our last episode, we saw the indomitable, impulsive duo suspend the campaign to take on the Crisis on Wall Street! Now, watch, as, in our next episode...McCain Goes Negative!



McCain paces the floor in the Fortress of Irritability. He is cracking walnuts.

A walnut slips to the floor.

McCain: Damn nutcracker!

Sarah Palin is sitting in a chair at a desk. She is writing on a piece of paper: "J.M + S.P." This is then crossed out and replaced by "S.P. + J.M.". These alternating versions , the one before it always crossed out, continues down the page.

McCain: Well, the first plan didn't work. We tried to put them in a trance with the folksy ray, but they had their deflectors halfway raised. If only you hadn't called the commander in Afghanistan "McClellan"

Palin: But...didn't you say they were fighting a civil war, Sir?

McCain stops pacing, looks at Palin silently. He is smiling through tight lips but he is holding back anger.

McCain: "I think the time has come. We have to call in...Dr. Negative."

He pushes a large black button, which is the only button on a red phone on his desk.

Dr. Negative immediately bursts through the door. He is carrying flyers, masking tape; telephone wires are wrapped around his arms hanging in every way; a tattered copy of the book "Accusations of Fascism, Communism, Terrorism, Drug Use, Pedophilia, Islamism, Adultery, Pandeism, Cannibalism, Cubism, Miscegenation, and Spousal Abuse...for Dummies!" is rolled and stuffed in his left pocket, filled with bookmarks; he is dragging a Robocaller behind him, leashed to a chain.

Dr. Negative (quickly, eagerly): Did you hear? Obama was born in Bin Laden's subterranean bomb making factory, outside of U.S. lines. He was born on a pile of cocaine and dynamite--and the midwife was a Trotskyite!

McCain: Not yet, Dr. Negative. I want you to meet Sarah.

Sarah: Oh, we've already met.

Dr. Negative: That trooper went down! He poisoned the salmon milk at the Wasilla Bible school! With drugs made at a Leftist Satan worshiping collective! That you could see from Russia!

Sarah: You betcha'!

Sarah and Dr. Negative give each other a high five. Dr. Negative's telephone wires rattle on his arm as he does so, triggering the Robocaller, which starts playing "...illegitimate babies made in test tube factories in North Korea and sent to Chicago by Bill Ayers..."

Dr. Negative shuts off the Robocaller with an embarassed smile.

Dr. Negative: Just practicing.

There is a pause.

McCain: That's fine, Dr. Negative. That's fine. Because, now, I have a special job for you. An important one.

Dr. Negative leaps into the air with excited glee. As he does, detritus falls to the floor--buttons reading "Election Day: Remember, the 3rd Tuesday in November!"; business cards, reading "Push Polls Anonymous--We Call, They Fall" and "Mongers On Call-No Rumor Too Far fetched"; Bandaids with purple hearts; mangled and dirty chads.

Dr. Negative: A new job! A special job! Oh, Mr. McCain! I'm ready! I'm ready!

Sarah watches from her chair, filing her nails.

McCain: Now, Dr. Negative. You have to make him seem radical...

Dr. Negative quickly pulls a can out of his right pocket, emblazoned with the word "Radical" He opens the top. Red and Black snakes fly out.

Dr. Negative: (eagerly, expectantly, hungrily) Yes...Yes...

McCain: You'll have to start rumors that are so inflammatory that they will spread like wildfire, and that will be started too late to stop them with the actual truth...

Dr. Negative pulls a gigantic grinder out of his left pocket. It is labeled "Rumor Mill". He turns the crank a few times. Hamsters, syringes, and Peace symbols fly out.

Dr. Negative: Yes...Yes...

He is salivating.

McCain: They will have to be so incredible, so over-the-top, based on such tawdry and poorly sourced evidence, yet riddled with tempting minutia--bullet gauges, Google maps of supposed meetings and the like, that the right will eat them up, and start analyzing the minutia with adolescent glee.

Dr. Negative (Very calmly, matter of fact): Oh, that's easy. They'll eat anything.

Dr. Negative reaches into his back pocket, pulls out a manila envelope labeled "Minutia: So-called "Proof" for the Right". He empties it to the floor. Bullet gauge measures, outdated copies of Photoshop, paperbacks entitled "How to Use the Insane as Competent Witnesses", "The Faked Moon Landings! Roswell! And Other Believable Phenomena!" and "You TOO Can Be A Warrior--From Your Own Couch!" fall to the floor.

Sarah plucks out the "Faked Moon Landings" book. She starts reading.

McCain: We know how our girl loves to read.

Sarah stops, and begins fixing her hair in a hand mirror.

McCain: Now, Dr. Negative, there is one final task.

Dr. Negative: Yes, Mr. McCain?

McCain: It is very difficult. Very...dark.

Dr. Negative: (Leaning forward expectantly, his voice quivering with excitement): Yes, Mr. McCain, Yes?

McCain: You will have to play the card that they played against me. Do you understand?

The room becomes silent. Sarah stops looking at herself, and looks towards the center of the room where McCain and Dr. Negative are staring at each other.

Dr. Negative: You mean...(eyes widened with disbelief. His telephone wires are quietly shaking as he shivers).

McCain (nodding): Yes.

Dr. Negative slowly removes from his jacket pocket what seems to be an ordinary pack of playing cards. They are labeled "Joker" brand. He takes a penknife from his pocket, and slowly slices the covering cellophane. There is a slight and distant roar. He looks at McCain.

McCain nods.

Dr. Negative then slowly removes the red ribbon encircling the cellophane at the top of the pack. He inserts the penknife--holding it from it very farthest end--and flips open the top of the pack.

Smoke begins to pour from the top of the pack, thick, acrid smoke. It quickly fills the room, covering all that is in sight.

McCain (shouting amidst the sound of smoke rushing into the room): And remember--no fingerprints!

Next episode: The smoke is cleared.

Cite:

Head of State

http://headofstate.blogspot.com/2008/10/impulsively-unreflective-duo-inmccain.html

let's not discount the years' long role that the media has had in stoking these smears and slurs against democrats. they've revelled in portraying dems as the 'other'. and now they're being directly targeted.

you reap what you sow.

and this will end in violence. just like the rnc is hoping.

ACORN thing is Republican "black advance"...they laid the groundwork for this back in the spring w/ press coverage to lay down thefoundation. The people who filled out those forms were likely Dallas-based operatives or college Republicans. This is the kind of thing they do. It has that Rove-ian Kabuki theater quality about it.

Where are both Clintons?! If they think they can lay low and wait for 2012 they're playing a dangerous game. And if the unthinkable happens, we're all in a heap of trouble -- Hillary won't be the first woman pres -- and probably never will be... the disaster from Alaska will have her stilleto firmly planted in Hillary's back.

They better get out there NOW and be loud.

Odd source to cite, I realize, but I keep thinking of a song from Beauty & the Beast

We don't like what we don't understand
In fact it scares us,
And this monster is mysterious at least.
Bring your guns, bring your knives,
save children and and your wives,
so save our village and our lives!
LETS KILL THE BEAST!

I am amazed at what they think they will get from whipping their core loyalist in to frenzy.

it seems as if they are not trying to win the election but succeed from the union.

if you are behind at the poll, and you are already getting 90% support from your party, why appeal to base. the whole thing does not smell right.

McCain is now employing the "save the village by destroying it" Vietnam tactic. he is not running to govern but to divide the country along party and racial lines. SAD, SAD, SAD

I don't know if anyone else has seen these, but in my borough, in Northeast PA there are now signs up in people's yard's reading "annoy the media vote McCain Palin".

!

The only silver lining to the hateful flailing is that the McCain campaign is coming off as increasingly desperate. As I watch them on the news they appear to be completely unhinged, they know they are going to lose.

The scary thing is that there some wing nut out there whipping themselves into a froth. Secret service please pay attention.

A populace gets the leadership that it deserves. If the voters elect McCain/Palin, then those voters will get what they deserve, and America will become the laughing stock of the entire civilized world.

Delightful and informative,,,, and scarey, offering from The Dish http://ta-nehisicoates.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/10/the_unthinkable_1.php

So much impotent handwringing!

What Palin and McCain are doing is ILLEGAL. They are INCITING. They are engaging in HATE SPEECH. They are riling crazy people up to commit felony acts of violence against a sitting Senator and presidential candidate. They stand by while a black cameraman is subjected to racial taunts and further hate speech. The Secret Service is "investigating" while the criminals are speaking from the podium.

WAKE UP PEOPLE!!! Do we have to see a lynching on the evening news before somebody stops these two? They won't stop themselves - they are getting their evil rocks off on their hateful rabble rousing.

You want Hitler? vote McCain Palin.

I will still say that I have seen quite a bit on MSNBC about this hate mongering. Yesterday, during the noon hour (central time), Andrea Mitchell talked w/Tucker Bounds about this and called him out on it. I sent an email to TPM about that interview. During Hardball, Chris Matthews did the same thing, but with a different Repub (I don't remember who). He's talked about this quite a lot.

To echo someone from a thread here the other day, seeing 'adult' and 'Republican' in close proximity in the same sentence smacks of an oxymoron.

McCain has made an epic miscalculation. America is paying attention for the first time in a long time, and as we tune in, what do we hear? McCain talking about some guy named Willy Ayers, and telling us we don't know Obama, "that one". So as the economy is the worst in a generation, McCain is talking about the 1960's, and telling us we don't know that guy Obama, even though he been on our tv's yakking non-stop about who he is for the past 2 years.

I thought Hillary ran a crappy campaign, but this is ridiculous.

This is where "balanced" reporting completely fails. What McCain and Palin are doing is an outrage, and they need to be called out. Balance is great, but the truth is better.

McCain cannot even stand up to bullies at his own rallies. Palin is so busy trying to cover up her own ignorance she no longer allows anyone with intelligence to ask questions. She does the nasty things she's told to do very well because it fits so well into her nature.

McCain/Palin are rabble rousing and inciting a lynch mob mentality. They are setting up the neocon loonies to pull off their version of the "Brooks Brother suits" of confrontation to bash dems for the next four years. The more they can get people to hate the enemies they create the more motivated they will remain to their destructive cause.

The 27% cancerous closed minded hate filled bigots are not open to discussion or compromise and allow only points of view that agree with their already formed opinions or biased prejudice. They revel in their own ignorance and the only means of combating them is to educate and inform the remaining citizens. They are ruled by unregulated greed and blame damage.

McCain/Palin are promoting the same type of violence that has been promoted by Hannity, Coulter ,Limbaugh, Beck, O'Reilly...my god the list is huge. They have a long history of inciting violence. Example: The Arkansas democratic party leader shot to death in his office and the books of above mentioned were found in the assassin's apartment. The Unity church shooter just hated liberals.

McCain/Palin know exactly what they are doing. Next they'll burn black dummies hanging from ropes at their rallies cheering wildly at the site of destruction. REMEMBER: They are the minority. The real McCain has been exposed by Palin's pretense. They assumed the voters were too stupid to know when they were being manipulated and lied to and they were wrong. McCain has always been a con and Palin is a phony. The public started paying attention...before it was too late. Their only recourse now is to steal it or challenge the election and get a SC installment.

One day I will tell my grandchildren that republicans used to exist in great numbers until taken over by neocons and fanatics and unregulated greed caused them to wreck the country. (Sorry, I'm angry and had to vent...I'm done)

If a Right Wing Nutball causes me fear for my safety, I can guarantee him instant "Rapture"

And now that you've demonstrated, in writing, premeditation and planning, you will probably be arraigned on murder charges if you do. Okay, he yelled at you first? We'll make it second degree.
Gun nuts are all the same Democratic or Republican.

You just go ahead and shoot at the next guy who challenges you politically. There isn't a better thing you can do for progressives, Denocrats or gun rights.

What difference is it who said Oilbama and his Oilbamabots are all liars and scumbags?
The point is that "they" are 100% correct.

I think that news organaizations have an obligation to avoid faning the flames of these very dangerous sparks.