The Language of Elections

McCain supporters in Strongsville, Ohio, and Lehigh University in Pennsylvania are quoted:

• "Obama is a terrorist! He's got the bloodlines!"
  
• "F&#king commie terrorist!"
  
• "He should hang for it!"
  
• "Obama is a Muslim! He's a terrorist!"
  
• "He's a filthy commie scumbag!"
  
• "Just look at his name. The name says it all."
  

The McCain campaign doesn't denounce this kind of hate speech, and Sarah Palin encourages it by claiming that Obama has ties to the Weather Underground (which Obama was active when he was less than 10 years old) knows one of the leaders of the group, who is now a professor and who served on a board with Obama. In fairness, Obama's claim that McCain was a key player in what became the Keating scandal is equally specious.

But what concerns me more than anything is the series of "Kill him!" cries. Will no one among the McCain supporters implore him to put a stop to it? He could, you know, by addressing it directly every time it happens.

But he won't. And attack-dog Sarah Palin continues to invite it.