Woe is Drudge, Race-Baiter

The Drudge Report was in full ambulance-chaser mode last night when, as Tommy Christopher reported, they ran with a suspicious story about a woman being mugged and mutilated for her pro-McCain views. This story ran like wildfire through the right wing blogosphere, including here at Political Machine, serving as proof that, while McCain's supporters may occasionally shout out violent epithets at campaign rallies, Obama's followers (as exemplified by a black street criminal acting on his own accord) are much, much worse.

You know you're in scary territory when Michele Malkin is the voice of reason in your midst. But much-deserved kudos to her for spotting a despicable bit of race baiting from an overzealous McCain fan acting on her own accord. Not everyone in our media sphere can claim the same skeptical restraint. Earlier today, for instance, Fox News' Executive Vice President, John Moody, wrote the following:

If Ms. Todd's allegations are proven accurate, some voters may revisit their support for Senator Obama, not because they are racists (with due respect to Rep. John Murtha), but because they feel they do not know enough about the Democratic nominee.

If the incident turns out to be a hoax, Senator McCain's quest for the presidency is over, forever linked to race-baiting.

Gee, I wonder which option Moody was rooting for. Never mind that we now know it was all a hoax, Moody's assertion that voters would be justified in thinking Obama responsible for the criminal acts of a lone supporter is itself a form of race-baiting. You see, Obama can't control them! Those blacks are going to be out of control if Obama wins. He might also have posited, "If Obama turns out to personally rob a liquor store and kill the store clerk, white voters might no longer feel comfortable voting for the guy."

Well, if only the uncovering of race-baiting meant the end of it, then there might be some silver lining to all of this. But we must not forget the glee with which Drudge offered up this October surprise, nor the subsequent outrage it sparked among his eager flock. To be clear, McCain is not to blame for this incident. Just as Obama wouldn't have been to blame if the allegations had been true.

Now, Drudge is up and running with the hoax angle, exposing the world to the evils of partisan desperation race-baiting. I can't wait to read all the stories that will follow, on this blog and on others. True, we all make mistakes. This one was a doozy.