The gloves, sadly, have come off

With the already dismissed (by careful investigation of the accusations when they first surfaced) rhetoric that Ms.
Palin is employing to sidestep the lagging McCain campaign we see a new phase of desperation for the embattled John McCain. That's too bad. To think that he's now employing the same tactic as Bush's handlers did to derail his bid the nomination back in 2000 is a bitter irony I don't think he'll have time appreciate.
To most readers this is nothing new, and that's even more ironic. This fear mongering has led us down a dangerous path by distracted us several times already from engaging the real issues. This strategy should be ancient history by now and not the fallback position of political strategists. Worse, is the fact that in too many people's minds this is legitimate. They're buying this hate nuanced as "genuine" concern because that's easier to digest than the truth. We're spoon fed every factoid, true or false, based on some demographic pattern that keeps us seperate and unequal. "Joe Six-pack" is proud of his bad taste in beer and sees anyone drinking something other than Coors, Bud or Miller as an elitist and not as a guy or gal with better taste in beer. And it is better beer to be sure. There's nothing elitist about making a better burger on your grill than a McDonald's burger but if you drink Sam Adams or Sierra Nevada you're an "elitist"?
This crowd sees the rest the world from an Us or Them perspective and can't get behind the idea that in many ways we're all in this together. This fact should ring as true as ever when viewing the Global Financial Crisis, a crisis that affects every one around the world because of our economic ties with one another. The reason we're in this mess together is after the physical and financial trauma that we saw (and shared) at the end of WWII the leaders of the world decided we had to have better communication and shared goals to maintain the global peace that the war ripped assunder.
It's not our shared economy that's at fault either.
It's greed for lack of a better word. The idea that rich wasn't good enough, that arcane financial rituals should be created to horde even more of the world's wealth into a smaller set of ever more powerful hands is why we are where we are today. From sub-prime loans to Credit Swaps we are reaping the whirlwind of financial loss, while the very wealthy rewarded each other with a ponzi scheme the whole world fell for.
The ignorant do not care. It's easier for them to embrace the idea that a black man is going to sell us down the river to (former) terrorists. What these people do not understand is every presidential candidate is investigated. To be sure they probably don't know some rocks to turn over but they still turn over a lot of them. They can't affect policies after someone is elected but they can warn the FBI and other domestic intelligence agencies if they see something wrong with the candidate. This vetting process has been around for a long time and in this case they are fully aware of Bill Ayres and his PAST, emphasis on his past, because the Weather Underground is no longer around and Mr. Ayers did his time for his actions while in that group. To top it off his contact with Mr. Obama was very limited, a shared idea more than anything else. That idea was to lift people out of poverty by getting better education for children and better employment opportunities for adults. Those scoundrels!
So, am I terrorist sympathizers for liking a distinctly American ale called Red Hook ESB? What if I drank a German Hefe Weizen from Pauliner breweries? I'm not Joe Six-pack because my taste for better beer has come through my love of beer and it doesn't matter what country it comes from.
Is it okay for me to assume that shoppers at Wal-Mart are pinko commies because the majority of what they buy comes from red China?
See, I didn't think so. Still, with all the jobs leaving the U.S. it would be nice if they made an effort to buy things made in the USA. Sometimes folks need a good bargain, but sometimes the best bargain for everyone is to support higher wages paid in the USA and to avoid buying cheap stuff made by near slave labor from other parts of the world.
As for the McCain campaign, I just hope they get back on track and engage the real issues and throw out this hate baiting. We don't need it and most of us cringe when it's used. It's no longer welcome and those who find it appealing are a national embarrassment. We need to rise above this and lead the way by raising the standard of national dialogue. Joe six-pack has had his day but it's passed. Even the old King of Beers, Budweiser is making a genuine American ale. If Bud can attempt to make a quality brew then the Bud drinkers can raise the level of civil discourse too. I hope they remind Sarah Palin that one does not hunt moose in high heels. It's just a common sense safety issue. There's nothing remotely maverick about the tactics of fear in the nation that embraced the words "We have nothing to fear, but fear itself".
Our history has faced down fear.
We always have.