Adam Serwer explains that accusations of radical leftism have often been used against black leaders:
It's no wonder that the tone at McCain rallies remind Lewis of the bad old days. In recent months, conservatives have sounded increasingly retro with their attempts to paint Obama as a socialist or communist. In some ways, this accusation is typical far-right boilerplate. Obama certainly isn't the first Democrat running for president to be accused of communist sympathies. And as usual, the accusations are rarely linked to policy specifics. But the difference with Obama is that, in the eyes of the right, it's not just his political affiliation that implicates him as a socialist. It's his ethnic background.
And Courtney Martin examines how we should view The View:
So where can an undecided voter find relatively astute, but not wonky, fresh debate about the candidates from all different perspectives?
I never thought I'd say this, but the answer is The View. That's right. Barbara Walters' coffee klatch happens to have become one of the most radical spaces for political debate this side of the mainstream divide. From the moment the primaries heated up, Joy Behar, Whoopi Goldberg, Sherri Shephard, Elizabeth Hasselbeck, and Barbara Walters have been analyzing much more than the potential first ladies' outfits. They've been picking apart the candidates' histories, positions, and campaign strategies. The conversation, in fact, has been so intense that last week Shephard prefaced her comment about the ongoing hot topic of Obama's relationship with 1960s radical William Ayers with, "This is so draining."
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—The Editors
