Here's my idea for a political ad. And according to the Lee Atwater/Karl Rove/Donald Segretti school of politics it's completely legit.

Get one of those 'voices', you know the ones, the real ominous guy not the folksy guy...

REPUBLICANS HATE GRANDMOTHERS (medicare changed to benefit Big Pharma)

AND WANT TO RAPE YOUR CHILDREN (the Foley coverup)

VOTE FOR ____________________ ETC

There's a bunch of potential choices. Katrina, failed foreign policy, Enron, Delay, etc, etc.

Back it up with the right montage of images and sound effects and there you go : The universal Republican-style attack ad for Democrats.

Start running it the weekend before the election over and over to drunk people watching sports or reality TV or whatever broadcast garbage to be determined; to the people who are just starting to think of the election on Tuesday. The Americans who don't deserve America.

Think of the ammo the Republicans have provided over the past 6 years for this and other ads like this. Think of the past 2 weeks.

Now, I have no doubt the conservative-owned media would reject many of these ads while running their equivalent against Democrats. That happens every election. But what if? What if all the Republican corruption, crime and incompetence were packaged and paraded in the final media blitz? What if the playing field were level?

I think we'll see a little more of this this time around. Look at the polls. The 'background' noise isn't exactly favoring the GOP. And boy will they cry unfair. 'Dish it out but can't take it whiner' is a job requirement for being a Republican pol, but that's another story.

Put this in the sad but true file. Frank and far-ranging discussion and debate over real issues is preferrable but you just don't reach the DEAL OR NO DEAL/Car circlin'/lame talent show crowd with that.

Who governs in the US is determined by the ignorant being manipulated by the cynical. What a sad situation but it seems to be, in fact, the case.

I really don't think this was the plan but here we are.
*