[JWsleep]

This is just the chickens coming home to roost. They've gone very negative and they use a townhall style format. I am relieved that McCain said what he did (shades of the old John!), but the campaign has continued the rhetoric and the adds. Sparking up mob violence is not responsible politics, especially given the economic situation. And I'm not saying that McCain and co are saying "go do violence", but once they see what effect their words are having, they should back off.

As for the dems, the negativity there is not the usual "three Rs" that BB mentioned (which are just plain stupid, and the dumbest thing a democrat can think, IMO). It's McCain=Bush and McCain is erratic. Then there's the Keating 5 video. None of this stuff is saying McCain is anti-american or an outsider, nor do they touch on negative racial or religious stereotypes. That's not to say they are true or that they aren't negative. But they aren't unleashing mob anger they way the repub's stuff is.

There's obviously a fine line here. I'm fully accepting of negative campaigns: they're as old as the nation. But for the first time this election cycle, I actually felt afraid watching some of that stuff from early in the week at repub rallies. I am Jewish, so maybe I'm over-sensitive to angry rallies in tough economic times. But I think McCain at least has realized that this is getting out of control, even if others in his campaign seem to think that ANYTHING goes. Since these are the same guys who started a rumor about McCain's adopted daughter, I have no sympathy for him. But if you want to get the first black president of the United States killed, this would be one way. Nuts don't take much to set them off.

NOTE: I AM NOT SAYING THAT REPUBLICANS IN GENERAL OR MCCAIN OR HIS STAFF ARE TRYING TO INCITE VIOLENCE. My wife and father in law are republicans and I love and respect them very much. I'm just saying that this situation is potentially very dangerous. The repubs are playing with fire in this economic environment, IMHO.