Sunday Roundup

Increasingly desperate, John McCain and the GOP are throwing the kitchen sink at Barack Obama. No wonder they called Joe the Plumber. So this week brought racist mailers, a tidal wave of robocalls, more Bill Ayers, Sarah Palin's love of the "pro-American areas of this great nation," and McCain's outlandish claim that ACORN is "destroying the fabric of democracy." Not unwarranted wiretapping, waterboarding, extraordinary rendition, or the denial of habeas corpus. ACORN. Bringing this toxic collection together in one despicable no-goodie bag was Rush Limbaugh, who charged that Obama -- aided and abetted by Ayers and ACORN -- is "smack dab in the middle" of a 30-year plot to teach black children to "hate, hate, hate" America. It's going to take more than a plumber to pull McCain's -- and his party's -- reputation out of the sewer.