Now the Real Fight Begins

Josh Marshall explains why even double-digit leads may not be enough to save Obama's election from McCain's last-ditch strategy, which boils down to this:

Message: "He's a terrorist ni**er!" Tactic: "Newly-registered Democrat? Sorry, no voting for you!"

If you're thinking to yourself that there's little more than two weeks before election day and Obama has a solid lead in the polls, don't be so sure.

Yes, it looks good for the Democrats. But you need to play close attention to the McCain campaign's final weeks' strategy under and just above the radar. McCain's final strategy relies on two pillars. The first is aggressively playing to voters' fears of electing a black president. Make no mistake: not just his campaign in a general sense, but McCain himself and his top handful of advisers, are banking on the residual racism in a changing America to get them over the finish line. The second is an aggressive use of innuendo to convince casual voters that Obama is in league with Islamic terrorists bent on killing Americans.

SNIP

Many people say, well ... all this stuff just hasn't worked. But the truth is that the really corrupt and vicious part of McCain's effort only comes now because it's only in the last couple weeks that you can pull stuff that the press won't get to call you on before election day -- after which it doesn't matter. Will it take Obama down? So far McCain's gutter campaign has hurt him more than helped. But there's no reason to be sure it will continue that way. And many Obama supporters, sure the election is basically wrapped up, appear ready to slack in the stretch and let McCain smear and cheat his way into office.

Read the whole thing.

Then get out the checkbook and give 'till it hurts. Lace up those walking shoes and start knocking on doors. Fight like we're ten points down and $100 million behind, because given what the wingnut freakazoid racist fear-mongers have in store for the next 16 days, we are.

Cross-posted at BlueGrassRoots.