Election '08: The Angry Right

Some disturbing--and embarrassing--behavior by McCain supporters.

By James Taranto

My comment: There are crazies on both sides. Obama has his own collection of nutcases. There are rappers (and James Carville) who threaten violence and rioting if Obama doesn't win. And some on the Angry Left equate Bush with Hitler. We don't hear much about them because of media spin, and because Obama is winning (and therefore his side has less to rant about).

But those cranks on the right who rant about Obama being a terrorist or as someone who should be killed need to get lost. They are not part of the principled conservative movement and do nothing but discredit Republicans and conservatives. Obama has every right in our system to run for and win the presidency. Whether he'd be a good president is another matter, one for the voters to weigh carefully.

However, those who claim that people will vote against Obama because of racism need to get real. Republicans are not saying, "Gee, I'd vote for Obama except for the fact that he is black." That's absurd on its face. Under normal circumstances, principled conservatives will never vote for this liberal, no matter what the color of his skin is. We hold him to the same standards as we do anyone else. That's the antithesis of racism.

The problem is not his race; it's his character, experience, and policies. We'd be glad to vote for the right black politician, just as we would be glad to vote for the right woman (witness our excited reaction when Sarah Palin, a conservative woman, was chosen). Racism, if there is any, will be coming from the Democrats, just as it did in the primaries. If racism stops the Obama express, it will be because of Democratic, not Republican, racism.
--Stan Guthrie (updated)