McCain, Palin, Tacitly Approve Assassination

Earlier today, I wrote that the McCain campaign plans to turn ugly, pock-marked and nasty. "We're going to 'Willie Horton' Obama," I was told by a campaign insider.

But this is more than nasty: The campaign is becoming dangerous.

Twice yesterday and again today, when McCain was giving a speech and asked the rhetorical question, "Who is Obama?" someone in the crowd shouted back "terrorist" followed by someone else yelling "kill him," to hearty and approving applause. The same threats echoed during Palin speeches since Sunday, as well. The videos are all over YouTube.

Neither McCain nor Palin stopped their speech to lecture the audience about offensive, inappropriate and illegal comments. Why not?

Threatening the life of a presidential candidate is a federal offense and with so many police and Secret Service agents present, why wasn't anyone arrested? When a crazy woman like Ann Coulter recommended that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi should be shot, people rose in outrage but right wingnuts laughed it off, saying Democrats don't have a sense of humour. Some joke!

When McCain and Palin use silence to give tacit approval to suggestions from supporters that their opponent should be shot, then they are tacitly signalling that it'd be alright for someone to take a pot shot.

Are we supposed to laugh it all off? I've lived through enough political assassinations, and attempted assassinations, for one lifetime, thank you.

This is starting to remind me of Hitler's rallies during the last days of the Weimer Republic in Germany during the 1930s. There, politicians and ordinary people alike were killed after supporters took up their leader's call to action.

God help us all.