This always stood out to me as one of the most profound statements of the 2008 election. A compelling encapsulation of what's been going on around here over the last eight years. 

But throughout this entire presidential campaign, the truth has really come into focus.

The internet, the 24 hour news cycle and a new sprawling political activism have created a collaborative and heightened level of transparency.  It's like a curtain has been pulled back and we can see all the tricks and chicanery and dirty rotten scams being hatched in different parts of the country--not in retrospect, but in real time, as it's happening.   As if we just walked in on the whole operation.  The sleaze is fresh and still dripping from the hands of the bosses, the money men, the judges, the spinners, the frontmen, the whole lot.  

We can see the truth in broad daylight.  

Racism, robo-calls, push polling, underhanded rumors that have circulated in the hush of emails, voter caging, voter suppression, things that have been going on in the shadows, in small corners of America that would otherwise go unnoticed, or worse, unattended to, are now in the same spotlight as the mass deception that has gone on right smack dab in the White House.  

Most of us, a great majority of us, see the truth.  But it may not matter.  Why?

George Bush, perhaps not so coincidentally, put it best:

you can fool some of the people all of the time.  

"What we're talking about is widespread voter fraud, says one top GOP official, adding "this is how the Democrats are going to steal the election". 

No cameras, no crowds, no reporters.  Nothing.  Just him and a local volunteer.

The beauty of this moment was that it was so anonymous, unassuming--it almost looked like he was part of the community, someone going around collecting money for the local little league. 

Here was a man running for the highest office in the land doing something so simple and so fundamental, just three weeks before the election.  

It's rare that something so small demonstrates something so big.  

I've heard it all before but not at these decibels.  

Conclusion?  repeating same argument louder doesn't make it smarter.