My first diary:

I'm outraged.  We're all becoming republicans.  We're adopting republican style attacks, unfortunately we've been aiming them at each other.  Since I started participating at MyDD, I've read Clinton referred to as a bitch, Obama referred to as a thug.  I've seen allegations of racism and sexism flung about hung on an exceedingly thin thread.  I've seen the supporters of each of the candidates referred to as Kool Aid drinkers, racists, morons, idiots, kids, senile, etc.  There is no insult too low, no reach too far, in the effort to undermine the other side.

Let me start with a disclaimer.  I'm a Obama supporter.  At the beginning of the process I was wavering between him and Biden.  Hillary Clinton fell way down on my list of candidates, somewhere before Dennis Kucinich and somewhere after Dodd.  

Okay disclaimer out of the way.  

Have we lost our collective minds?  Seriously folks...after 8 years of George W. Bush, are we seriously trying to make sure that the Republicans have four more years to screw up the country even more?  

These people need to go.  I'm not talking about the people in the White House, but the people in charge of various federal agencies.  The cynicism, pettiness, mendacity of the Bush people is beyond compare.  McCain draws from the same self serving, lobbyist, influence peddlers, and other assorted miscreants that the Bush people do.   Who do you think convinced him to flip flop on permanent Bush tax cuts, torture and basic unprecedented violations of civil liberties?

Rather than focus on this aspect, we decide to pummel each other.  About what...a Clinton gaffe re: Bobby Kennedy?  Those folks who think this was intentional have lost their minds...first, this in no way helps Clinton, second, she's smart enough to know this.    What the Obama supporters (I'm referring to the online type and not the "Obama Campaign")  have bought into on this subject is some kind of insane group think...where rational analysis has been replaced with the most negative assumptions about the Clintons.   On the other side, we've heard the thug theme, we've heard the stealth Ronald Reagan theme, we've heard the he's too liberal theme and we've heard African Americans and intellectuals referred to derisively...like they are not worthy coalition partners.    It's shameful and irrational.

Both candidates have fought a long, hard and difficult path to the nomination, it does a disservice to both for their supporters to pile on using the insignificant and stupid.  

Now if you want to see something truly astounding, look at how the Republicans are doing their best to line up behind John McCain.  A candidate that a great number of his fellow Republican Senators consider too hot-headed to be trusted with the nuclear trigger.  Oh and keep in mind that the only way for either the Clinton coalition or the Obama coalition to get what they want done is for either one of these candidates to win when it counts.  Otherwise four more years of irresponsible Republican nonsense, more bad federal court judges (not just at the Supreme Court but at the District Court and Court of Appeals --- where the vast majority of justice is either done or denied) and the blatant attempt to spread the theatre of potential warfare to include Iran.

Folks...think before you fire, because the wounds are almost always in the end -- self inflicted.