they think we're stupid

read a post from josh marshall, and atrios and summed up by daniel de groot here. excerpted below:

So the McCain campaign has been lying with near impunity.  Josh wonders:

The McCain campaign's ability to frame their message around a series of demonstrable lies is only possible because most of the press takes an agnostic position on whether his messages and ads are true or not. But if the press won't, don't we need to stop relying on the mainstream press to make that point?

Obama has started to address this, but he needs to go a step further.

"You can't just make stuff up," Obama says, perhaps optimistically. "The American people aren't stupid."

Atrios nails it:

the Obama campaign really has to make it a little stronger and make it clear that McCain and Palin are acting as if they think people are stupid.

I should have thought of this myself.  A couple years ago I saw Jon Stewart do stand up in Toronto, and one line in particular really stuck with me (from a great performance), quoting from memory:

"When I see President Bush get out there and stand in front of the media and they ask him something like "Mr President, how do you account for the lack of WMDs in Iraq?" and he responds (Bush voice) "See, people love freedom.  Freedom tastes like ice cream."

(audience laughter)

When I see him say things like that, I don't think he's stupid, I think he thinks we're stupid."

and that's exactly right. mccain picking palin was him saying, "hey, i'm going to double-down on the fact that most people can be persuaded to vote against their interests, and can be convinced to vote on some niche religious issues, regardless of whether they're losing their homes, their jobs, their healthcare, etc. i'm going to bet that women are so dumb, that they'll sacrifice their own rights, set their own progress back 40 years, just because i have a vagina on my ticket." and looking at the polling numbers so far this week, it looks like that bet paid off.

they think we're stupid. and for good reason. bush, mccain, palin...they lie again and again and they have no reason to believe that people will discover/believe/care about the truth because, for the most part, we haven't. there are STILL people who believe there were weapons of mass distruction in iraq. people who don't believe in global warming. people who believe everything they read in the papers, which brings us to the MSM.

mccain and palin, otherwise known as the liars, know they have the MSM in their camp as the MSM is generally a right-leaning group of people who'd like to stay in favor with those that favor them, i.e. it's in their best interest if the republicans keep control of the white house. they read, on air, verbatim, talking points from the mccain camp without regard to their veracity. and when, for once, they start asking the right questions, "hey, what DOES make palin qualified to be the president of the united states?" they get stonewalled, chastized by their mentors/republicans in office and trot away with their tails between their legs.

it's insane. and frustrating.