Odds and ends

1. In a chilling reminder of Joe McCarthy's worst guilt-by-association tactics, a wild-eyed Minnesota Rep. Michelle Bachmann on Hardball TV with Chris Mathews claimed that Barack Obama and his wife Michelle hold anti-American views and can't be trusted in the White House. She even called for the major newspapers of the country to investigate other members of Congress to "find out if they are pro-America or anti-America." And she implied that holding liberal views is anti-American.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/17/gop-rep-channels-mccarthy_n_135735.html

2. You've heard about the massive robocall campaign across the country put out by the McCain campaign to smear Obama. Apparently it hasn't hurt him in Missouri, one of the most important tossup states. Today 100,000 people came out to hear him speak at a rally in St. Louis.

3. I just saw the new Oliver Stone film, "W." Pretty devastating just by presenting a more or less straight-forward portrayal of what we already know. Still, it has the effect of an "inside" view as it's all happening. It's not a hatchet job, nor a whitewash. I came away feeling slightly less contemptuous of Dubya, because it does try to provide some psychological context for his strivings (to gain Poppy's respect and love, as well as to succeed where his father failed).

But it does nothing to mitigate the effect of Dubya's failure on our country and the world; and, if the therapist in me felt a twinge of compassion for George the crippled man, the rest of me still feels appalled and enraged that this limited man was given such power to do harm. It was utterly predictable that he would.

Extraordinary portrayal of Cheney by Richard Dreyfus. Worth the ticket price for that alone.

Ralph