I feel it's time for me to speak up about something that has been bothering me: name-calling. More below...
If we, as Obama/Biden supporters, are trying to take the high road in this election, then we've got to cut out the name-calling against John McCain and Sarah Palin. All kinds of folks on this site have rightly decried the name-calling against Obama perpetrated by McCain/Palin supporters. But it doesn't seem right to me that every time I open up DailyKos, I see a good number of diaries hurling around such epithets as McLame, McSame, Plain, and the like.
Let me be crystal clear: I am 110% behind Obama/Biden. I think that a John McCain/Sarah Palin administration would be an absolute nightmare for the country, perhaps as much or more a nightmare than the Bush/Cheney administration has been. I think McCain and Palin lack the compassion, learning, and understanding necessary for good leadership, and I think that their records reveal them to be unethical politicians.
However, I maintain that it's possible to challenge McCain's and Palin's qualifications, views, and vision while still granting them the basic human respect of using their true names. With so many entries here that call McCain and Palin names, the diaries that--again, rightly--condemn the name-calling against Obama ring hollow.
I propose a moratorium on name-calling. Leave it to the McCain/Palin supporters. Through our words, let's show them and everyone else what the high road looks like: principled but respectful disagreement.