Are You Ready for Some Goofball?

Yesterday, at a Sarah Palin rally in Colorado Springs, Hank Williams, Jr. warmed up the crowd. So great is his affection for the vice presidential nominee that he skipped his usual gig with "Monday Night Football," during which, in the show's bombastic opening, he craftily squeezes a few lines about the opposing teams into his now-famous theme song, "Are You Ready For Some Football."

Of late, Junior has basked in the affection of the Palin/McCain throngs, changing football jerseys to the appropriate town as he travels in Palin's traveling show. And, like Elizabeth Hasselbeck and Bruce Springsteen, he has decided that now is not the time to pull any punches. To that effect he made the following assertion to the faithful:

"You know, I'm usually at Monday Night Football tonight, but Colorado, this is a lot more important tonight." Williams said at an airport hangar rally in Colorado Springs. "Join me now in our national--you know, that song that, uh, Mr. Obama's not real crazy about, we're singing it right now."

Really? Obama hates the national anthem? What e-mails have you been reading, Hank? Why not just go the full hog and tell us what you really think? Hit us with all those nasty -ists you have pent up inside: terrorist, communist, black nationalist, elitist. Whatever gets a whoop from the crowd must be true. Maybe Hank would be wise to step outside the echo-chamber of Sarah Palin rallies and get back to the gridiron.

Unfortunately, this brand of neo-McCarthyism has been in evidence quite a lot in our current campaign. Michele Bachmann's famous star-turn on Hardball may go down in history as the worst self-inflicted wound by television interview ever recorded. And Sarah Palin herself has regularly questioned Barack Obama's patriotism, before saying she does not question it.

Don't get me wrong, Hank and Michele and Sarah and their legions of "America, love it or leave it" fans can think and say whatever they want. But it's a shame that, at a time when there are so many problems facing this country, they're so stupid as to make this entire election an argument about patriotism.

Hearing such nonsense makes want to fire up some country blues on the stereo and remember the good part of the Williams family legacy.