This is shaping up to be the ultimate Culture War election.

The culture war always simmers; now it's at full boil. Much as Obama would like it to be about issues, that isn't happening. Is it possible to return the focus to the issues? Maybe, but it's unlikely. It's not possible for Obama and Biden to make it issue driven- not with the MSM shutting down issues driven coverage.

Last week Obama, in response to a comment by a high up McCain advisor, said that this election isn't about personalities, it's about issues and the American voter. He's wrong. It's about the cultural schism, and yeah, personality.

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but yeah, it's about the cultural divide.

It will be about the typical "culture war" issues, and about the culture of war.

Your for Obama-Biden.

If you want Theocracy and ignorance...You vote for McBush and Mooseburger.

... ceding the issue. They've been hammering McCain's campaign lobbyist manager on his "This campaign isn't about the issues" for a day or two now. I'm watching "Morning Joe" right now (thankfully without the Joe!!), and it's certainly crossed over into the MSM.

It's hard, because people like us are so intensely plugged-in to the campaign minute by minute. But politics really don't unfold in real time. Sixty days is an eternity in politics, especially in the YouTube-Cable News-Internet age.

In the end, it's Republicans that want a culture war, and the rest of the country wants to talk about the economy. Their base is big, and they alone beat us last time. But I'd bet the house that this year, our base is a helluva lot bigger. And it will grow, the longer they try to treat us like we're stupid. Just like Barack says.

abortion, stem cell research, climate change, censorship, and religion, he's going to lose. And it won't be about race, or Hillary, or the media. It will be his own fault. The Republican Party is a nothing more than a poster child for a mean-spirited form of Christianity that is taking this country down. These people need to be confronted, not coddled.

... on CNN's Sunday Late Edition on this very point.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nenY2k2tuy8

It's long and worth it, but if you wanna cut to the Palin Is A Freakin' Extremist chase, fast-forward to the last few minutes. I think the Obama camp gets it, and look for this attack to get fully fleshed-out this week.

Edit: A few highlights of the attack:

Let's Talk About That Ticket!

Sarah Palin doesn't believe climate change is manmade.
McCain/Palin want to outlaw abortion even in the case of rape or incest.
Palin is against pork for her state even though she hired a lobbyist to get pork for her state.
Sarah Palin's gonna fit right into Washington.

and her stonewalling of the investigation to debunk the notion that she and McCain will reform Washington. If that's the way they want to go, fine. It's a good and believeable line of attack. But we do need to start going after them on something other than the economy. If it's 70% economy, 30% they are corrupt, fine. Just get it going and don't stop hitting until Nov. 4.

Actually, I think they have been getting it going. You can't bluster through the noise of a convention. You gotta give 'em their weekend when you go last. It's the luck of the draw, but the gloves look to be coming off. Evidence? Gibbs going right at Palin's lies. Obama on the stump this weekend saying "They think you're stupid." Biden on the stump saying "Doesn't she remind you of that kid in school who made fun of your clothes?"

I like what I'm seeing and hearing, and haven't lost a bit of my swagger through this Palin sideshow. It's on. I welcome it.

which takes no back seat to Chicago in terms of cronyism and corruption. Make the place into the weird-as-shit political backwater that it is.

One thing the Republicans are good at is using the poeple who certifiably won't vote for you to define the other side as out of the mainstream. We're going to get hammered in Alaska anyway, so why not lampoon the hell out of the place. Sarah Palin is from the pork-barrel capital of the United States, a political bridge to nowhere where the governor says it OK to shoot wolves from helicopters. Fuck with them, make them respond, drag their ugly shit into the light of day so the media has to talk about it.

emphasize the alien and different

that's how it is. That's the reality we're stuck with. Better to face it and defeat it, than to have it run over us again.

Palin needs to be utterly trashed (the right way). It'll have to be like the end of "Dead Zone", something like that. Or if the debates actually show what a dangerous fraud she is. Or if one of the big scandals blows up (TrooperGate or BabyGate). Or the secessionist thing, or the radical religion thing - but it has to be something over-the-top "wrong" to work. The Theocrats have to be seen as very, very dangerous, and become a "never go there again" page of past history.

We have to do a "Goldwater". Or go skanky.

This emotional hot button stuff is easy to report on and it's easy for ordinary people, addicted to reality shows, to understand.

Climate change, energy policy, the national deficit health care...these are issues that have no easy answers and an intelligent discussion of them requires more time and attention than most people, myself included have.

Democrats want the discussion to be about the issues but the Rpublicans want it to be about emotion. Obama's great strength to this point has been his ability to inject excitement and emotion into a campaign solidly based on issues.

Every time he does this his numbers rise.
Keep them coming out every two weeks on different issues.
His voice is his strongest weapon.
He should use it.

and that's how the gop wants it. They need to be called on it.