Where Are We Going, Where Have We Been?

So I just started wondering how it works. Does the McCain campaign actually disseminate their talking points to the right wing press? Are the Charles Krauthammers and the Peggy Noonans on the repug payroll and they get their assignments and then start typing? "Okay, for the last two weeks of the campaign, we're going to work the McCarthyesque guilt by association theme (since we've got nothing else left), so let's make sure every column we write is some variation on that theme?" I only ask this because the coordination is breathtaking. In the days leading up to the debate and since, the drumbeat from the right wing columnists is Acorn and Ayers, Ayers and Acorn, with a little paradiddle thrown in of "anti-American," "unpatriotic," and "socialist" (you people are trying to rob Joe the Plumber and spread the wealth!).

Is it working? Not so far. But if they continue to say these things over and over and over, will it have an effect come election day? I have no idea, except that I know it's working my nerves and pissing me off. In case you haven't heard, Sarah Palin's going around saying there are parts of this country that love America and there are parts that hate America (big wink), and we know where they are. Some scary senator from Minnesota, meanwhile, Caroline Bachmann, went on Chris Matthews and basically said in response to dogged and smart questioning from Matthews that not just Obama, but all the other liberals and leftists in congress should probably be investigated to see if they, too, are Anti-American.

Hmm...When have we heard this all before. "Are you now, or have you ever been..."

Yeah, well. It's easy to dismiss what's happening, to conclude that the Grinch and his lipstick sled dog are desperate and pathetic, but it's also clear that this is no longer a presidential campaign, it's a witch hunt. And if it ends up working two weeks from now, like travelers who've been out on the road too long, we're all gonna wake up the next day and wonder what country we're in.