Ponnuru: It's All A Lie

The paranoid strain in American politics is alive and well:

If all you knew of Obama was what he presented to you in his speech, you would think of him as a typical Democratic politician improved by the addition of a bit more thoughtfulness and idealism than the average representative of the class. You would be amazed to learn of his extremely close relationship to a radical anti-American preacher; or that he has followed a no-enemies-to-the-left approach to politics that put him in the company of an unrepentant terrorist. You would not suspect that he favors taxpayer-funded abortion or drivers’ licenses for illegal immigrants. You would not realize that he has crossed party lines far less often than McCain. You would not imagine that he had ever voted against funding for troops in war zones. It would not cross your mind that this denouncer of hardball, self-interested politics might be having his campaign intimidate reporters out of looking into his record.

What you see here is something quite simple. Instead of addressing the policies and arguments Obama made, Punnuru argues that you have to rip off the mask that actually disguises a terror-loving, far-leftist, baby-killing, troop-betraying anti-American. In one paragraph, Ponnuru sums up the McCain campaign so far. All I can say, apart from being amazed at how vicious and surreal the attacks are, is the following: it didn't work for Clinton. And she had some popular policies behind her.