Don't go wobbly, Dems

Two weeks to go--time enough for one last case of Democratic wobbles and one last resort fueled by Republican desperation.

Democrats, scarred by the stolen election of 2000 and the near miss of 2004, privately worry, wring their hands and, traveling cyberspace's vast expanse, trip over a discouraging word, poll, or prediction. Generally, they needn't look farther than the Drudge Report, which shamelessly selects information--and disinformation--in order to stereotype Barack Obama and denigrate his prospects.

With genuine anguish, one Democrat said to me Sunday, "Did you see Drudge has Obama only 2.7 percent ahead?"

It wasn't actually Drudge, but a poll by Zogby, which Drudge had cherry picked for its pessimism. (Unlike Drudge, Zogby isn't biased; he famously elected Kerry in 2004.) Rasmussen's poll used to be Drudge's favorite, but on Sunday it showed Obama leading by six, so Drudge swept it under the rug.

Joe the Plumber, yesterday's gimmick, isn't a plumber and he isn't even named Joe. So McCain has cranked up charges of "socialism" against an opponent endorsed by Warren Buffet and Robert Rubin. Can't somebody tell McCain he's running in 2008, not 1918?

Beyond this threadbare scare on taxes, all that's left to McCain is a Rovian appeal to the darkest impulses of the American people. McCain's tactics, his running mate and his supporters have spread a venom that could poison American politics for years to come. Ayers, ACORN, Jeremiah Wright, the attempt to make Obama "the other"--for many on the right, this election all comes down to race.

To paraphrase Kierkegaard, some Democrats may be suffering a perennial case of fear and trembling unto defeat. But that's not how it will end this time. It will be the Palin revanchists (and McCain's own minimally enthusiastic brigades) crying into their six packs on election night. Not even on Drudge will they find a consoling electoral count.