Republicans = Desperate?????

I never thought it would get this bad.

It started in late July with the "Paris Hilton" commerical, which branded Barack Obama as a mere "celebrity". That was pretty low, but the Democrats could laught it off.

Then, at the RNC in early September, Sarah Palin took a jab at Obama's experience as a community organiser, applying firstly that this is the totality of this experience, and secondly that community organisers lack "actual responsibilities". This remark in itself was offensive, but I think is more reflective of Palin's ignorance than anything. It's clear that she doesn't appreciate inner city poverty which is actualy one of the biggest domestic problems in the US. So that she made such an offensive remark- I could dismiss it as ignorance on her part.

Then, in mid-September, the Repubicans launched a pair of ads that I posted in my last entry- one of which called Obama sexist, and the other one claiming he supported sex education for kindergartners. I think at this point it was clear that the Republicans were becoming desperate. I would call these ads "disgusting" and "inexcusable".

But maybe it was just a gaffe? Truly John McCain, as much honour as he seems to have, couldn't genuinely approve of these ads? Maybe the advertising campaign manager was acting out of line, and the campaign fired him?

But, it's not that simple. Just within the pat few days, Sarah Palin accused Barack Obama of fraternising with terrorists. Buzz-word: terrorist. In effect, she called Obama a terrorist. In present-day American society, that is about the worst, most offensive thing you could call someone. She might as well have called Obama a (n-word). See the story here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7653132.stm.

My question is this: why is this accepted? This is absolutely innapropriate campaigning. Yes, the Democrats have commited their share of negative campaigning, but none of this type. I have not heard the Obama people call McCain sexist, or in fact anything short of a hero. And certainly, Obama/Biden themselves speak with McCain (and Palin) with great respect; admittedly, they may make untrue statements about their policies, but I have not seen an outright attack on their personality (There are two exceptions. One ad attacked McCain for having 7 houses. I believe this is valid, however, because it demonstrates that he is out of touch with the economic suffering of the American people- he doesn't even know how many houses he has. The second is an attack on McCain's honour, but this ad was aired ONLY in response to the sexist/sex-ed duo).

But Sarah Palin called Obama a terrorist!!!! There is absolutely no basis for this claim, and it is, in my opinion, utterly utterly offensive. There should be a public outry- by everyone. The Obama campaign should rip this to shreds- they should say that this type of campaigning is simply unacceptable and they should demand an apology from Sarah Palin. All they say is that it was "offensive" and "unsurprising": http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/10/05/palin.obama.terrorist.claim/index.html. Not that this isn't true, but, as I just said, this is UNACCEPTABLE, and the Democrats SHOULD NOT ACCEPT IT.

Further, I think that Republicans should condemn this. I'd like to think that Republicans are decent, compassionate human beings. But this is an outright lie. What are the facts? Some guy was part of a radical group in the 60s that plotted to bomb the Pentagon, in protest of the US's role in Vietnam. Obama served on the same charity board as this man in the 90s. Obama has publically condemned the acts, does not maintain a strong relationship with him, and most of all, he was eight years old during the man's "terrorist" actions. It is an untrue stretch to say that Obama is a terrorist. Republicans, who pride themselves as "compassionate conservatives" are acting like anything but. I'd like to see how any Republican could justify this.

I really hope that mainstream Americans aren't dumb enough to be swayed by this. Please: anyone who thinks that Republican campaigning has been anything but disgusting and dishonest, please comment on this blog, and justify your position. Furthermore, anyone who thinks that Sarah Palin is in ANY WAY qualified to serve as presidetn, please commet on this blog and justify your position. I really want to hear what you have to say, becuase i simply cannot understand how ANYONE could genuinely believe these things.