Here Come The Smears

"Our opponent ... is someone who sees America, it seems, as being so imperfect, imperfect enough, that he's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country..."
-- Sarah Palin, speaking at a fundraiser in Denver suburb, Englewood, CO

And, with that, the Republicans open the smear salvo that, one assumes, they intend to feed the public for a month straight. This smear does the double-job of implanting a subliminal image of that picture of Obama in Kenyan garb sharing a hookah with a similarly attired Osama Bin Laden, all the while specifically referencing convicted Weather Underground member William Ayers.

Never mind that Obama has repeatedly distanced himself for Ayers' prior views, never mind that there isn't any evidence for the basis of the charge, they're gonna make this claim early and often. May I add, with Ayers now in the open, can Tony Rezko and Rev. Jeremiah Wright be far behind? The timing says no, they're not. Expect to hear about them in the coming week or two.

When asked about the tactic, the McCain/Palin camp points to recent Obama ads obliquely referring to McCain's age (i.e. - "[McCain's] erratic in a crisis, out of touch on the economy"). To which the obvious question becomes "how is calling out a 72 year old presidential candidate for his age even remotely the same as saying the black dude with the funny name is chilling with bomb loving terrorists?"

Ever resourceful, today Obama's camp warned, in essence, "two can play that game." Goodness knows both McCain and even Palin, with her minimalistic resume behind her, have several troublesome connections of their own. Not that by pursuing this course the Obama camp could change any minds along their base; as JJ frequently points out, the Republican base has continually proven they are impervious to cognitive dissonance. I'd say it's just important for Obama's side to show that the are willing to go there if necessary, this act alone shows he's willing to stand up to the bullying...

As truth evades the McCain campaign in the same manner sobriety evades Andy Dick, it is this very quality we must demand from those who will undoubtedly spread these talking points. Make comparisons to the Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae lobbyist who is a McCain campaign consultant. And should they fall back on the increasingly tiresome ploy that all they are doing is expressing their opinion, remind them that opinions are not the same as fact.

Either that, or you could emulate Larry Flint, and create a satirically minded porno. (Link to porn script, still NSFW.)