It's About Time

John McCain earned a small amount of the respect I once had for him back tonight, when he - finally - interrupted some of his own constituents to correct them on Barack Obama's nature (not a terrorist) and religious beliefs (not a Muslim, not that it should matter). When he corrected the first man, who expressed his fear of raising a child under an Obama presidency (!), responding that Obama's a decent man with whom he simply disagrees, he was greeted with a chorus of boos from his own supporters. Later, when

A cynical side of me thinks - not without good reason - that Obama had to correct the folks at this point a) because they were getting increasingly belligerent, racist, and potentially violent, but also b) because they were simply making his campaign look bad. Ridiculous, in fact. And this, like his choice of Palin, was reflecting poorly on his judgment. Nonetheless, his tone struck me a genuine, and I thank him for correcting those bigoted individuals on matters, which have been spreading for months now.

Now, let's see if Sarah Palin's willing to do the same.

We probably have the failing economy to thank somewhat for Obama's success right now, but I'd like to think people's critical thinking skills have improved somewhat since the Swift Boaters convinced so many to believe their hateful dreck during Kerry's campaign.