Ugly Times

Let me start out by saying that I don't think that all Republicans are racist lunatics. Both sides of the political spectrum get nutty when you stray too far from center. However, McCain and Palin's new "All Negative, All The Time" strategy has really started to draw those fringe folks that might have had the good sense to keep to themselves earlier in the race.

Just in the last 36 hours:

• At a rally, John McCain asks the crowd, "Who is the real Barack Obama?". The first and loudest responder can be heard shouting, "TERRORIST!"
  
  
• The Washington Post reports that "Palin's routine attacks on the media have begun to spill into ugliness. In Clearwater, arriving reporters were greeted with shouts and taunts by the crowd of about 3,000. Palin then went on to blame Katie Couric's questions for her "less-than-successful interview with kinda mainstream media." At that, Palin supporters turned on reporters in the press area, waving thunder sticks and shouting abuse. Others hurled obscenities at a camera crew. One Palin supporter shouted a racial epithet at an African American sound man for a network and told him, 'Sit down, boy.'"
  
  
• Palin whips a crowd into a frenzy, talking about Bill Ayers, former member of the Weather Underground. In the middle of her speech, one man shouts, "Kill him!"
  
  
• This morning, Palin accused Obama of criticizing the troops (untrue, of course) and soon after, someone in the crowd shouts, "Treason!"

Stay classy, San Diego. Remember, this was the man who promised a respectful campaign.

Again, it's too early to tell if McCain's new last-ditch scorched Earth strategy will work or not. Keep an eye on the daily tracking polls over the next week or so. I think we'll see a tightening.