Hint of the future

AP says that Obama will face attacks from the GOP regarding his patriotism.

At issue is the infamous pledge photo.

Paragraph four of the story quotes "Republican consultant" Roger Stone.

"The reason it hasn't been an issue so far is that we're still in the microcosm of the Democratic primary," said Republican consultant Roger Stone. "Many Americans will find the three things offensive. Barack Obama is out of the McGovern wing of the party, and he is part of the blame America first crowd."

Who is Roger Stone? Probably one of the lowliest lifeforms in politics.

Josh Marshall has the answers and they're not pretty. To put it simply, Stone likes to pick on the elderly and form offensively-named groups to appeal to the lowest common denominator.

It was only inevitable that this kind of campaign would start up as soon as one candidate closed in on the nomination.

McCain did hire another of the dirtiest operatives in the business, Terry Nelson, to work for his campaign, after all.

Who is Nelson?

Media Matters has that:

Nelson was responsible for a television advertisement attacking Senate candidate Rep. Harold Ford Jr. that many criticized as racist. Last year, the indictments of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX) on campaign finance-related charges alleged that Nelson was the conduit for money transferred through the Republican National Committee (RNC) between DeLay's political action committee and Republican Texas House of Representatives candidates. Questions have also been raised regarding his knowledge of the 2002 New Hampshire phone-jamming scandal. Moreover, Nelson's consulting firm employs a former adviser to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, whose 2004 campaign tactics McCain himself called "dishonest and dishonorable."

Joe Conason says they're just getting started.

False accusations about Mr. Obama’s religious affiliation have surfaced in anonymous we-mail campaigns, with little impact so far. But easily denied charges about his supposed Muslim upbringing are gradually giving way to more concrete allegations. The latest round involves his political intervention in Kenya, the home of his late father, where violence between ethnic and partisan factions has erupted in the wake of a disputed presidential election.
As usual, the right-wing narrative melds half-truths and lies with facts to create a seamless indictment.

It's going to be a long, ugly year.