The opportunity for the White House increased dramatically with the McCain choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate.  Initially Palin energized what the Republicans call their base.  She did and she does energize those people and that is exactly what is wrong with the Republican Party.

Check out the latest Obama advertisement:

Plain represents everything that is wrong with her Party and everything that is wrong with America. The religious right has demonstrated their intolerance for anything other than radical division. The Republicans struck their deal with the devil about thirty years ago, forming a coalition of fiscal conservatives and the radically religious. Palin is a gross example of charm mixed with ignorance and prejudice.

Check out McCain with Rod Parsley – “A moral compass…”

Note here that we are not saying the Republicans should deny people of faith – but they should deny the self-righteous prejudice of Reverend Hagee and Rod Parsley and their kind. This past eight years should be enough for anyone to understand the dangers of fanatical religion. Osama Bin Laden comes to mind when we think of religion as an excuse to destroy others. McCain and Palin fail to understand that independent thinkers are totally rejecting this brand of politics.

The same could have been said for the Democrats in 2004. People in America are really tired of extremism. People are tired of the ‘all or nothing’ mentality of politicians. Politicians themselves are tired of pandering to these radical groups – but it has worked for them, so they continue.

The Election of 2008 is a watershed moment in America. It is a time when the people are standing up and saying “enough is enough.’ Bring compromise and reason back into our government.

Bill Moyers is admired by this writer – and we have confidence that Americans are smart enough to understand his message. Please take a moment to listen: