Reaching The Bottom Of The Hate Barrel

As we mentioned earlier this week, August is often a slow month for news, especially when extremists and astroturf groups - bankrolled by rich interests to stir up trouble - actually take the month off, as they seem to have done during August, thankfully.

There is still plenty of discontent out there. In a poll of Ohio voters on Tuesday, if the election for President were held today, the projected winner would be no one. The bright news, if there is any, is that the poll shows that Ohioans hate President Obama the least of any of the current contenders. No single Republican comes close to his favorable/unfavorable numbers.

Congress is much worse off than that nationally, reaching a new low in voter satisfaction.

As of yesterday, Congressional job approval numbers had tied their historic low of 13%. In short, America is fed up with politicians from all parties. Surprisingly, independent Congresspersons are loathed even more than either Republicans or Democrats. The late Idi Amin of Uganda and the current tyrant in Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, are running a close second (We're just kidding about that).

It's been obvious on President Obama's bus trip through the Midwest that he's hearing voter frustration - and that he's also fed up with a Congress that continually refuses to do almost anything.

Of course, some wealthy Americans, after hearing Warren Buffett's recent call for higher taxes on the rich, got off their fat backsides... to complain to the media that they were being picked on.

All the while, the media - especially the political media - hungry to feed their 24-hour news channels and websites, have been hovering over the Republican Presidential candidates like an excited child with a new toy. Rick Perry has been feeding his ego, and doing what Texas bullies often do - opening his big mouth and threatening everyone in a completely amateur and unpresidential way.

We tend to agree with certain other patient members of our field that the shine on Perry will wear off faster than the gloss on the new shoes of kids heading back to school.

All in all, we're glad the hatemongers, extremists and astroturf groups aren't filling this month with a storm of insane rhetoric.

In truth, we wonder if they haven't actually run out of steam, finally.

Hate can be a powerful emotion, there's no doubt. Its biggest failing is that when it's spent, there is rarely anything left to show for it, long-term.

For all the railing against the health care reform bill? It passed.
For all the rhetoric about driving the country into default? It's not close.
For all the rallies at the Lincoln Memorial? We are still a nation divided, in many ways.

We think - no, we hope - that maybe, just maybe, the break in the insanity and lies, and stupidity might finally give an opportunity for the truth to take root in  American popular discourse.

We won't hold our breath, though.