The New York Times Has Had Enough

An editorial in today's New York Times takes the McCain campaign to task for its "race-baiting and xenophobia":

It is a sorry fact of American political life that campaigns get ugly, often in their final weeks. But Senator John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin have been running one of the most appalling campaigns we can remember.

They have gone far beyond the usual fare of quotes taken out of context and distortions of an opponent’s record — into the dark territory of race-baiting and xenophobia. Senator Barack Obama has taken some cheap shots at Mr. McCain, but there is no comparison.

Caribou Barbie received particular criticism:

Ms. Palin, in particular, revels in the attack. Her campaign rallies have become spectacles of anger and insult. “This is not a man who sees America as you see it and how I see America,” Ms. Palin has taken to saying....

Her demagoguery has elicited some frightening, intolerable responses. A recent Washington Post report said at a rally in Florida this week a man yelled “kill him!” as Ms. Palin delivered that line and others shouted epithets at an African-American member of a TV crew.

I had hesitated earlier to call Palin a demagogue, simply because I didn't think she had enough substance to merit the description. That said, her recent rallies remind me of nothing more than televised klaverns. We need to send her back to Alaska, and McCain to a nursing home.