We know that control of the poppy trade is a key funding source for the Taliban.  We also know that poppy production is a key part of the Afghan economy and the primary way of making a living for many farmers.  It is also reported that the illegal trade in poppies and heroin is a major corrupting influence on the Afghani government. 

So.... Let's buy the poppies!  Doing so could undercut the Taliban's support, eliminate government corruption and provide an income stream to farmers to support them in diversifying their crop. 

There might be several options for disposing of the poppies.   We might consider decriminalization and controlled distribution in this  country to deal with our own problems of corruption, disease and crime. Or we might use them to reduce legitimate pharmaceutical prices for morphine to reduce health care costs.  Or we could just burn them; that's cheaper and ultimately more productive than burning villages and just trying to destroy the source of livelihood for a major part of the population.

The escalating charges of voter fraud from the likes of Sarah Palin and Tucker Bounds in recent days are well documented and easily refuted here and elsewhere.  They are particularly egregious as Republicans continue to seek to suppress the vote in many states.  And they are unlikely to win many voters to the McCain ticket. 
But we should take them very seriously none the less.  A key question in this election now is what happens on November 5th?  It would be dangerously naive to think that the hatreds and rage stimulated and sanctioned by the McCain campaign will stop on that date.  Consider what might happen: enormous voter turnout swamps election sites; McCain poll watchers do whatever they can to dispute ballots and slow down voting further; anomalies in absentee and early voter ballots turn up missing votes and contested mailing dates.  Obama wins with a clear majority of popular and electoral votes.  McCain declares that because of "voter fraud" he will not accept the results of the election. 
What will the Bush-Gonzo attorneys do?  What would the Supreme Court do?  What do we do then?

Palin is certainly an attractive target.  She has bad ideas, some history of scandal, and in some cases, no ideas at all.  But I am troubled by how much attention she has attracted from all sides, from the main stream media and from the blogosphere.  This election needs to be about issues that are critical to our survival as a nation: War and international relations, the economy and tax policy, energy strategy, labor rights and equal pay. 
McCain has terrible positions on all of those issues that need to be exposed.  The key problem with Governor Palin is that she has little knowledge of those subjects.  It is hard to imagine her challenging McCain, the way Biden might challenge Obama to sharpen strategies, or even correcting his confusion of Shia and Sunni or the borders of Iraq. 
Selecting Palin certainly brings into question McCain's experience argument and his judgment and, I think also, his claims to putting country above personal ambition.  But Republicans will make those arguments themselves.  From the partial evidence of conversations with Republican neighbors this weekend, they already have.
McCain certainly intended this selection to appeal to the PUMA voters.  But McCain advisor Charlie Black's comments expose the real intent and position of women like Sarah Palin in a McCain administration: ""She's going to learn national security at the foot of the master for the next four years."  There you have it: while pandering to women, their real position is "at the foot of the master."
But even if we could, we should not look to win the election solely on the basis of this foolish, pandering selection.  It is critically important for Obama's campaign to discuss, educate and mobilize voters about the real issues that will continue to matter once the election is won.
And, in addition to those issues, it is critically important that we work with the Obama campaign to fix the broken politics of Washington, the politics of personal destruction, and yes the politics of misogyny that seems to infect progressives and the left as well as the right. 
Let's leave the issues of 'babes' and wardrobes behind.  Let's focus on McCain and the real issues in this race.