Well, At Least They Didn't Use His Middle Name Today

Well, that didn't last long.

After an evening of "OMG! McCain Sees The Light", that, either via polling showing it wasn't working, or getting his donuts crushed by angry Republicans running for office and getting dragged down with Fly Boy and Mommy Moose, the Dead Campaign Express, apparently, are not going to continue "defending" Barack Obama.

The awkward position they are in, having ripped down the curtain on the underside of the Republican Party, while if may be personally distasteful to Stumblin' Bumblin' Johnnie (unlike the Wasilla Whiz Kid, who thrives on it), they still have to throw a piece of red meat out to the drooling throngs.

As in the case this morning, out in Iowa;

Election 2008: God's Reputation Is at Stake

“There are millions of people around this world praying to their god — whether it’s Hindu, Buddha, Allah — that his [McCain’s] opponent wins, for a variety of reasons,” said Arnold Conrad, former pastor of Grave Evangelical Free Church. “And Lord, I pray that you would guard your own reputation because they’re going to think that their god is bigger than you if that happens. So I pray that you will step forward and honor your own name in all that happens between now and Election Day.”

(You can read an entertaining account of the entire rally with "John McCain: Davenport Liveblog")


But Wait, There's More!

Seems that one of the trio that Fly Boy would go to for advice didn't wait to be asked (nor would he be put in a Cone of Silence).

John Lewis, invoking George Wallace, says McCain and Palin 'playing with fire'

"What I am seeing reminds me too much of another destructive period in American history," Lewis said in a statement issued today for Politico's Arena forum. "Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin are sowing the seeds of hatred and division, and there is no need for this hostility in our political discourse."

Lewis didn't accuse McCain of imitating Wallace, but suggested there were similarities.

"George Wallace never threw a bomb," Lewis noted. "He never fired a gun, but he created the climate and the conditions that encouraged vicious attacks against innocent Americans who were simply trying to exercise their constitutional rights. Because of this atmosphere of hate, four little girls were killed on Sunday morning when a church was bombed in Birmingham, Alabama."

And, of course, Stumblin' Bumblin Johnnie doesn't quite get it.

McCain responded with disappointment, but also a challenge to Obama.

"I am saddened that John Lewis, a man I've always admired, would make such a brazen and baseless attack on my character and the character of the thousands of hardworking Americans who come to our events to cheer for the kind of reform that will put America on the right track," the GOP nominee said in a statement this afternoon.

He added: "I call on Senator Obama to immediately and personally repudiate these outrageous and divisive comments that are so clearly designed to shut down debate 24 days before the election. Our country must return to the important debate about the path forward for America.”

See, Fly Boy and Mommy Moose spend that last week, or so, whipping up their rally crowds with "Who is Obama" and that "He pals around with terrorists" and it is now incumbent on Obama to apologize.

Which, of course, he did not, showing he has his hands steady on the tiller;

“Senator Obama does not believe that John McCain or his policy criticism is in any way comparable to George Wallace or his segregationist policies. But John Lewis was right to condemn some of the hateful rhetoric that John McCain himself personally rebuked just last night, as well as the baseless and profoundly irresponsible charges from his own running mate that the Democratic nominee for President of the United States ‘pals around with terrorists.’ As Barack Obama has said himself, the last thing we need from either party is the kind of angry, divisive rhetoric that tears us apart at a time of crisis when we desperately need to come together. That is the kind of campaign Senator Obama will continue to run in the weeks ahead,” said Obama-Biden spokesman Bill Burton.

Mark Kleiman sums it up, nicely;

McCain's attempt to change the subject from the hate-rallies he and his sidekick have been running to the accuracy of comments made by someone McCain regards as a sage isn't going to work. If McCain has a problem with Lewis, maybe he ought to talk to Lewis himself. McCain could use a little wise advice right about now.

And, This Happened Today

Man At Palin Rally Displays Monkey Doll Donning Obama Sticker

After Palin finished her remarks this morning, the man holding the stuffed monkey seemed to notice that a video camera was pointed at him, at which point he removed the Obama sticker from the doll’s head and crumpling it up in his hand. He then handed the doll to a young boy who was watching the rally from his father’s shoulders. The boy’s parents later told CBS News that they weren’t acquainted with the man who gave their son the stuffed monkey.

And, Finally, The Big Question

Which would be, did Nicolle Wallace and Brian Rogers, designated liars for the Dead Campaign Express, have their heads up their own asses, or each others?

McCain camp defends the behavior?

Earlier today, Obama remarked on recent outbursts of "Traitor!" "Terrorist!" and "Kill him!" at McCain campaign events. "It's easy to rile up a crowd," Obama said. "Nothing's easier than riling up a crowd by stoking anger and division. But that's not what we need right now in the United States."

In response, McCain senior adviser Nicolle Wallace released this statement, NBC's Kelly O'Donnell reports. "Barack Obama's assault on our supporters is insulting and unsurprising. These are the same people obama called 'bitter' and attacked for 'clinging to guns' and faith. He fails to understand that people are angry at corrupt practices in Washington and Wall Street and he fails to understand that America's working families are not 'clinging' to anything other than the sincere hope that Washington will be reformed from top to bottom."

"Attacking our supporters is a new low for the campaign that's run more millions of dollars of negative ads than any other in history."

Defending the crowds

McCain spokesman Brian Rogers pushes back against the storyline of rabid McCain crowds and Obama's criticism:

Barack Obama’s attacks on Americans who support John McCain reveal far more about him than they do about John McCain. It is clear that Barack Obama just doesn’t understand regular people and the issues they care about. He dismisses hardworking middle class Americans as clinging to guns and religion, while at the same time attacking average Americans at McCain rallies who are angry at Washington, Wall Street and the status quo.

Even worse, he attacks anyone who dares to question his readiness to serve as their commander in chief in chief. Raising legitimate questions about record, character and judgment are a vital part of the Democratic process, and Barack Obama’s effort to silence and shame those who seek answers should make everyone wonder exactly what he is hiding.

Stupid me.

I always thought you had to do some heavy-duty narcotics to enter into an alternate reality like this ...


Bonus Hell-In-A-Handbasket Riffs

Warren Street: Too little, too goddamned late

Eric Schmeltzer: A New Low: McCain Camp Condones Violent Threats Against Obama

Kyle E. Moore: Just When You Thought He Couldn’t Go Lower

Eli: Who’s Driving The Hate Talk Express?

Nate Silver: Did McCain Just Walk Into a Trap?