I hear your perspective. We both agree he didn't go "there", at least not overtly. I just think he avoided it because being seen as the candidate who raised/pushed incendiary racial matters would have guaranteed a loss in the election and he knew it.

He was preserving his campaign and possibly his reputation for after the campaign. Not being noble or honorable.

If he was an honorable man he would not have allowed his campaign to suggest Obama wanted to teach kindergardeners about sex. If he was so noble he would not have allowed his crowds to shout "terrorist" without responding at once.

I hear you.

Plus many people are wise to the demonizing political tactics of Rove now and most have learned their lesson well.

I think he knew that going after Rev. Wright explicitly when it was so deeply delved in to during the primaries was unlikely to help his campaign and would have painted him as a racist. And that would have guaranteed his loss.

He went after Ayers because that had only been touched on in the primaries. He was hoping that talking about Ayers and a general "dubious associations" meme would have rekindled the Rev. Wright story without having to get his hands dirty on race.

I would love to agree with you that Senator McCain was being noble about it, but think about it, what else was he noble about?

My instincts tell me he didn't go there for political reasons.

It also gives him an opportunity to say "ok so I said lots of untrue, distasteful things, but I didn't play the race card, so forgive me all that other stuff" and folks like yourself and Mark Shields on PBS will say, "bravo, what a guy".

Sorry I just don't agree

That way no-one will want him, if anyone still does.

Thanks gotalife.

Idiotic. Thank you. You were instrumental in this victory with your morale boosting antics.

The smugness seems to have evaporated. Perhaps she can reinvent herself now, as a human being!

The whole nation, the whole world is celebrating.

We did it!!!!!!

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!

But thanks.

He's gone and so is the GOP.

Yes!

She looks like she can't wait for it to be all over so she can go back to bein' Alska's Redistributor in Chief, also.

It doesn't like you, also.

Classy!

Classy!

I cannot imagine how I could have kept my sanity if all I had to stay educated on the election was to watch the networks. Without this site, I would have had to conclude that all America was wrong, wrong, wrong.

But TPM is (for the most part) full of intelligent, left-but-open-minded, grown-ups who also recognize the MSM for what it is.

Let's hope in time that our outlook continues to spread and the MSM will start educating and challenging this nation. After all this is the greatest country in the world.

You can prank anyone on the phone when that person has a lot to lose if their wrong about it being a prank. Too easy.

Obama '08

It feels kinda good to be hated by you though.

I get plenty :-)

She's not particularly smart, and she is not very effective at articulating her limited faculties. We already knew that.

So what was illuminating?