The Tragic Legacy of "Us" vs."Them" Politics

I met Kevin Drum, one of my favorite bloggers, at the Network Nation conference in Austin. Today this typically low key guy doesn't mince words about the likely outcome of the strategy he has adopted for his campaign:

"John McCain has obviously decided that he can't win a straight-up fight, so he's decided instead to wage a battle of character assassination, relentless lies, and culture war armageddon. So what happens on November 5th?

"If McCain wins, he'll face a Democratic Congress that's beyond furious. Losing is one thing, but after eight years of George Bush and Karl Rove, losing a vicious campaign like this one will cause ."

This is my greatest single regret about the Republicans staying with the Rovian tactics that have done immeasurable damage to our government and our politics. As a result, whoever survives this mean spirited campaign will find it much more difficult to heal the divisions in our nation.... a prerequisite to taking on the extremely tough decisions we must face together or see our nation and our world literally torn apart.

- Richard Holcomb