Egging On

So now, under the guise of a “town hall,” right wing crazies and otherwise economically shell-shocked citizens are encouraged to help themselves to a microphone and, serving as alter egos for McCain and Palin, vent their hatred toward Obama and progressive America?

The scene from Thursday’s GOP rally in Wisconsin was simply terrifying.  What is it going to take for McCain to put a break on this?  A lynching?

What’s even more blasphemous is how McCain clings to deniability in letting the despicable Palin and these alter egos speak the ugliest words.  If you can stand to watch this pathetic CBS campaign video — pathetic for amplifying McCain’s scurrilous exploitation of Bill Ayers … complete with historical and more recent video footage of the “domestic terrorist” himself — you’ll see how McCain tacitly eggs on these lunatics.

But, because it’s easy to miss, I wanted to highlight the top frame in particular.  When the fire breather in the scene above, stoked by the chest beating, gets up and announces he’s really hot, what does McCain do?  He encourages the guy with a vigorous thumbs up so that, when the guy follows by shouting how angry he is about “the socialists taking over our country,” the frenzied crowd jumps to its feet in approval.  Of course, McCain couldn’t look more smug as the guy finishes his rant.

… And to think, this could have all been avoided if Obama had just agreed to participate with McCain in one of these a week.

Update: Here’s an excellent, if chilling video clip of the event above, showing how McCain enables the hater, followed by Palin’s attack on the MSM, attributing her failure to coherently answer simple questions to “being frustrated.”

Note To News Orgs: McCain And Palin Are Largely Responsible For Unhinged Tone At Their Rallies (TPM)

(screen grabs: cbs.com. Waukesha, Wisconsin on October 9, 2008)