Good article. Of course McCain's ad is extremely deceptive: "Obama snubbed our troops, going to the gym instead." McCain says he would have stood his ground, but what would the media have done if Obama tried that? Nor was it the prohibition of cameras. The military was concerned that Gen. Scott's presence with Obama would be seen as "political" and said it wouldn't be allowed. Sadly, this gym-over-troops ad slams us right back to the old neocon dirty tricks-- the end justifies the means. But this one is so blatant, it could backfire.

Yes, it's good journalism because it points up a real problem in campaigning. Yes, so it will be another negative campaign. And yes, the question is how the Democrats manage to fight back without making total fools of themselves. I wonder how many people are so sick of this campaign by now that they're tuning everything out?

This is very good journalism, showing both Barack Obama's real reason for not visiting American troops in hospitals in Germany, and McCain's continuing use of Rovian-style political assassination tactics in his campaign. Tactics that will likely alienate moderates on both sides of the aisle come election time, especially now that the Bushites are under heavy scrutiny for their role in various, highly deceptive campaigns ranging from the war in Iraq to the torture of prisoners.

Well thought-out and presented article. All stated facts are well-backed up and a clear understanding of what precipitated McCain's most recent political ad can be extrapolated.