It’s a new election coverage meme: The grass-roots Republican faithful see McCain floundering, and they are freaking out. Politico‘s Jonathan Martin covers the trend, which includes chants of “terrorist!” and “Obama Osama” at McCain rallies. But nowhere does Martin mention a key factor in why conservative fear and anger this year is so much harsher than it was when Gore or Kerry was running — race. A significant minority of the right-wing base coming out to these events are watching a black man with a Muslim-sounding name close this election, and they are not happy. If you have any doubts about their motivations, watch these videos.

Now let me repeat: these people are in a minority. But they are part of a disturbingly ignorant, hateful minority whose motivations should not be obscured.

—Dana Goldstein

Dana Goldstein, a former associate editor and writer at the Prospect, comes from a family of public-school educators. She received the Spencer Fellowship in Education Journalism, a Schwarz Fellowship at the New America Foundation, and a Puffin Foundation Writing Fellowship at the Nation Institute. Her journalism is regularly featured in Slate, The Atlantic, The Nation, The Daily Beast, and other publications, and she is a staff writer at the Marshall Project.