It's become accepted wisdom that McCain is losing ground in the polls right now because the economy is in such bad shape.

I think the real reason is that Obama has run a smart campaign and McCain has run a dumb one.  McCain and his advisors have made at least three fundamental mistakes in the general election campaign so far--mistakes that seem so basic that I can't understand how these people got as far as they did in politics.

As we've all probably heard from countless sources, ACORN, "the nation's largest community organization of low- and moderate-income families", is under relentless attack by the GOP's vote suppression machine. The charge is vote fraud.

This is what ACORN has accomplished in this election year.

Here are the facts regarding their  methods...

Wick Allison, Editor in Chief of D Magazine in Dallas-Fort Worth, is another true and established Conservative to realize that Obama is the best hope for this country... and the most likely to preserve HIS values. In an article entitled A Conservative For Obama, Allison states that "Barack Obama strikes a chord with me like no political figure since Ronald Reagan." Now there's an interesting observation.

California, that liberal hellhole according to many conservatives, is the only state that extends the First Amendment to private colleges, which as a matter of educational philosophy should encourage, not restrict, freedom of expression.

(Cross-posted at Clintonistas for Obama)

According to a report in The Anchorage Daily News, Sarah Palin is spinning the Troopergate Report that found she was guilty of a violation of Alaska's ethics law this way:

Well, I'm very, very pleased to be cleared of any legal wrongdoing ... any hint of any kind of unethical activity there.

Christians flee Iraqi city after killings, threats, officials say

At least 900 Christian families have fled Mosul in the past week, terrified by a series of killings and threats by Muslim extremists ordering them to convert to Islam or face possible death, officials said Saturday.

Speaker at McCain rally says non-Christians want an Obama win

A minister delivering the invocation at John McCain's rally in Davenport, Iowa Saturday told the crowd non-Christian religions around the world were praying for Barack Obama to win the U.S. presidential election.

I have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach over the deep divide John McCain and Sarah Palin are creating in the electorate. Considering the ravenous, Obama-hating monster unleashed by John and Sarah over the past week or so, I'm beginning to fear the things to come. The other day, even John McCain had to step back in the face of an almost overwhelming and hostile crowd of his own supporters! When he tried to calm their fears, he was booed. How long before it's totally out of his control?

In fact, I believe we are almost at the point of no return. Rational, intelligent Americans know that Barack Obama is a Christian. Actually, most of us don't care what religion he follows. The point is, we don't fear him. We see him as Presidential. However, it's very clear that, from recent video reports shot before and after recent McCain/Palin events, too many Americans are indeed extremely irrational, and deeply fearful of Barack Obama. Many of them already believe Obama is no different than the Muslim extemists in Mosul. I'm an agnostic, and don't go to church, but I wouldn't mind being a fly on the wall in some of our local Pentecostal or Baptist churches. I'll "betcha" (thanks for that, Sarah) there will be a lot of sermons pitting "them" (Muslim) against "us" (Christian) over the course of the next few days and weeks. Of course, it would be unsuprising when they include Obama in the "them" column.

No one can deny that McCain, Palin, and surrogates are stoking the flames of fear and hatred. I believe things are reaching critical mass. Very soon, McCain will have to put America first, and calm the fears. Hopefully, he will realize that, what he and Sarah are doing, is destroying our country, the same country he allegedly loves. Otherwise, it will not be long before Palin starts to suggest that, in her own little homey way, an Obama presidency will force good Christians, such as herself, to convert to Islam or die. When that happens, if that happens, it'll be too late for John and Sarah to turn things back. In fact, by then, they may have to run for their own lives.

Shell game, as defined by Wikipedia:

The shell game (also known as Thimblerig, Three shells and a pea, the old army game) is portrayed as a gambling game, but in reality, when a wager for money is made, it is a confidence trick used to perpetrate fraud. In confidence trick slang, this famous swindle is referred to as a short-con because it is quick and easy to pull off...

Bold emphasis is diarist's.

As of the past 24 hours, the charade ("Bailout myths: what we all need to know." ) of there being any transparency with regard to our government's efforts, led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, to shore up our economy is now, officially, a sick joke.

Obama takes on McCain's jabs about Ayers

copyright © 2008 Betsy L. Angert.  BeThink.org

Last evening Mister Gregory had a chance to speak to Mister Fairbanks of the issue.  "Who is Barack Obama?"  Barry thought he might introduce the topic delicately.  The two men were in a car together.  They had traveled across the country to meet with school Principals, Superintendents, and other professional educators.  The hour was late, and dinner was on the agenda.

As the gents drove to the restaurant, Barry began the conversation; "Just as Barack Obama might not have known Bill Ayers background, who would think someone in this car was a member of SDS, Students for a Democratic Society?"  Sean smiled and quickly replied, "I would."  He then revealed that he was in fact a member of the largest and most influential radical student organization of the 1960s.  The devout Republican, a man who might represent the Corporate Class belonged to an organization, which was "initially concerned with equality, economic justice, peace, and participatory democracy."  Sean recounted stories.  He told tales of his participation in anti-war protests.  Mister Fairbanks helped to close his college.  Sean showed "determined resistance," he was a radical, a rebel.  He could be considered a less visible, and less violent, Bill Ayers.