I'd like to start by apologizing to any GOP or PUMA trolls on this site.  I've derided you, mocked you, and used you for pimp-hand exercise.  But it was only because I didn't truly appreciate how valuable and essential you are to our community.  Your true contribution to our dialogue was a epiphany I had less than 24 hours ago.

Last night, out of the blue, I got a call from an old college friend who's a post-doctoral mathematics student at the University of Missouri.  I haven't spoken to him in years, but we've kept in touch enough to have one another's contact information.

Politically, we're opposites, even going back to our time at the University of Illinois, when he was a Young Republican and I was a Young Democrat.  Despite those differences, though, we've always liked and respected one another.

So, after catching up on each other's families, the conversation turned to Nouri al-Maliki's Der Spiegel interview over the weekend. 

My buddy started ragging on the "liberal media" who "misreported" Maliki's comments.  I laughed and told him he was in denial, which is at the very beginning of the 12-step process. 

Then, he started citing sources like CNN and Mark Halperin as "proof" that Maliki was actually supporting George Bush and John McCain's Iraq position.  So, I challenged him to hop on his computer and take a little Internet stroll with me.

While I narrated, I sent him to the original Der Spiegel intervew.  I then sent him to Der Spiegel's full interview transcript, where I showed him that Maliki mentioned approval of Obama's timetable proposal THREE separate times - and that Maliki brought up Obama entirely on his own.  

Then, it was on to the New York Times piece today that points out that the translator for the interview works for Maliki.  Then, we surfed by Jonathan Chait at The New Republic, who took Halperin to task for his credulity in buying the CENTCOM-sponsored "walkback".  Finally, we paid an e-visit to Matthew Yglesias at The Atlantic, who convincingly demonstrated that the al-Dabbaigh "clarification" was hogwash, as it didn't retract a single part of Maliki's endorsement of a withdrawal timetable.

We went through this exercise for about 20 minutes.  When we finished, my friend paused for about 20 seconds and said, "So, if all this is true...we're basically screwed, then."  

As I lay in bed a few hours later, it occurred to me how easy it had been to find and organize a rather convincing argument against GOP propaganda.  Then, I started laughing, because I realized why it had been so easy. 

I've spent a lot of time in the last year or so hammering away at various troll-types on this and other sites.  First, it was the Clintonistas (as opposed to the level-headed, rational Clinton supporters).  Then, it was the PUMAs (which is just the extreme hardline Clintonistas, reorganized).  Now, it's the GOPer trolls like Andrew Perez and theCleverBulldog.

To argue effectively against these people, you have to figure out what they're twisting in, omitting from, or adding to their various sources.  If they're quoting poll numbers, you have to review the original poll to see if their conclusions hold water.  If they're citing "reputable" online sources, you have to dig into those links.  In other words, you have to do in-depth research, and then present a logical rebuttal in stark, unforgiving fashion so as to render further attempts at spin futile.

What I discovered last night was that I've reached the point where I can present extemporaneous rebuttals in convincing fashion, using nothing but the truth and basic logic.

I've had experience in forensics before, thanks to Toastmasters debate competitions.  However, I wouldn't have been able to assemble, break down and organize my rebuttal data on the fly like I did last night if I hadn't gained that experience in battling troll infestations here and elsewhere.

The value of that skill is that I am much more effective at talking to people about Obama, because I can form my flow of thought as I'm talking.  I don't have to prepare cue cards or outlines anymore.  And there is hardly a better way to get votes for my candidate than being able to present his positions and the reasons why they're superior off the cuff, with various honest, unvarnished sources for people to check out on their own.

So, to all you trolls out there...thank you, thank you, thank you for your help.  In your own way, you're contributing to an Obama victory in November. 

And for those TPMers who hate trolls - don't hate them.  Use them.  Use them to get ready for the ground game, when you have to convince otherwise reasonable and normal people that those same troll-dropping arguments are false.  Turn their illogic and vitriol against them, and against John McCain.  After all, trolls like the dark...and as Benjamin Cardozo said, "Sunlight is the best disinfectant."