If the optimism progressives were feeling up until the debate . . .

[MrModerate]

Turns out to have been justified, and this election ends up as a bloodbath for 'Licans up and down the ticket, I think it will be largely because they overplayed the Asshole Card.

Sure, sensible people see wingnut/'Lican policies as stupid and evil, but perhaps more importantly, it's impossible to ignore how obnoxious, asocial, and downright cloddish the entire Republican field appears this cycle. Not only do you not want to have a beer with these jerks, you don't even want to shake hands with 'em unless you can wash immediately afterward.

I mean, "47% moochers," and "I don't care about the poor," and "pregnancy from rape never happens," and "playing World of Warcraft disqualifies you for political office," and on and on and on and on.

It's depressing. It's unAmerican. It's small-mindedness unheralded in US history.

And it's going to keep legions of fence-sitters home on Election Day.

Sometimes your tactics say more about your strategy than the other way 'round, and the Republicans have been caught out as liars, knaves, and downright nasty people. Let's make sure they pay the price.

I and most of my colleagues mailed our ballots in yesterday — to our various home states — in a little celebration around the office, and though we typically don't discuss specific politics in the office, I could tell from the chatter that Romney wasn't getting many votes. We may be only 25 Americans on the west coast of Australia, but we're pumped as hell.

And still optimistic.

[Comrade_McKenzie]

1. My dad was a registered Republican for 35+ years. He changed that yesterday...

And I helped my mom register to vote. She's 48 and hasn't voted once in her lifetime. She also registered Democratic.

We're Kentucky voters here, so it won't matter a whole lot... but maybe it's a foreshadowing of things to come.

[MrModerate]

2. My vote was sent to Texas . . .

So I feel your pain. But I don't think of it as a wasted vote, but a harbinger of the future.