When Democratic voters criticize McCain, we say things like:
* McCain showed poor judgment in choosing the unqualified Palin.
* McCain is old and out of touch, still fighting the Vietnam War in many ways.
* McCain has a hotheaded temperament and is feared by his own colleagues.
* McCain has run a dishonest, negative campaign.
* McCain has been erratic and impulsive in response to the financial crisis.
* McCain and Palin want to extend all of bush's failed policies.
Note that all of these statements are objectively true, and represent legitimate reasons to oppose McCain's candidacy.
In contrast, when Republican voters criticize Obama, they say things like:
* Obama is a Muslim.
* Obama is an Arab ("50% white, 43.5% Arab, 6.5% black", I heard on the radio today).
* Obama is not an American citizen.
* Obama is the antichrist.
* Obama is a Socialist.
* Obama wants to start a race war.
* Obama will bring about the end of Western civilization (also heard on the radio today).
Note that
not one of these statements is true!
A battle of competing truths I could handle. That's the way we used to do it, before the rise of right-wing media propaganda aimed at ignorant, low-information "real Americans". But when one side has the truth and the other side has only "Obama is the antichrist" and the like, it's not a fair fight, particularly since no amount of evidence or proof can shift any of these false beliefs one iota once they get lodged in these people's little minds.
It broke my heart to hear Palin/McCain supporters interviewed on NPR this morning. One backwoods-sounding man (the one with the "43.5% Arab" comment) was asked where he was getting this information. "From the Internet", he replied, adding that "my wife uses Yahoo and I use Google". I imagine them issuing searches like
obama arab muslim terrorist and then unquestioningly eating up everything that comes back as if it were Biblical truth.
The sheer depth of the butt-ignorance in "real America" is simply breathtaking, and it's killing our country. The truth doesn't stand a chance. It's all so very frustrating.
(end of rant)