I'm in a foul mood, so keep that in mind as you read this post.

Anya and I watched a brilliant episode of South Park last night. In it, the boys came across Britney Spears as she was hiding out in South Park, Colorado. They had heard earlier that papparazzi (sp?) photographers were earning 6 figures for selling pictures of Britney Spears doing random things. In an effort to make a quick buck, they sneaked into an emotionally disturbed Spears' hotel room by pretending to be her two boys. When she discovered why they were really there, she blew her head off with a shotgun. Stick with me here...

So for the rest of the episode, she was a walking, semi-talking headless Britney Spears. All the while, the media and papparazzi continued following Britney Spears, pointing out "how much weight she's gained" and how far she's fallen...basically, the episode pointed out how mean spirited it is that we're taking down a celebrity who obviously is not in their right mind and who is going through very substantial emotional issues at the moment.

The underlying theme of last night's episode is that there is something very primal in humanity in how we like to "watch people fall." One person in the episode last night even went so far as to equate our fascination with seeing celebrities fall, in some cases to the grave, as being similar to watching gladiators being eaten alive by lions in Ancient Rome.

It was a brilliant episode. And it was surprisingly empathetic considering that Trey and Matt have been known to ridicule troubled celebrities before.

But it really got me thinking about our current political situation. I've been reading all day about how this Jeremiah Wright mess is hurting Barack in the polls. And how everyone from Hillary Clinton to the right wing radio shows are using this to attack Barack.

I really hate saying this, but I think that our politics is purely toxic right now. It just absolutely stinks.

I'm almost to the point where I think that Barack should just drop out and let Hillary play with her toy in peace. I've seen it happen before. Two kids playing with their toys on a playground. They each have toys so they should be content, but as soon as one sees what the other has, the kid decides that her toy isn't good enough anymore and throws a temper tantrum demanding to play with both toys. Right now, I feel like the red-eyed parent sitting on the bench who says, "just let her have it, I'll get you a new one."

But the true toxic stench that's permeating through this election cycle is coming from the Punditocracy, mainly the right wing radio hosts and blog writers. You have everyone from Rush Limbaugh urging people to vote for Hillary because of the chaos it will create in the Democratic Convention to Sean Hannity trying to use Reverend Wright's preachings as a wedge issue.

The whole Rush thing is just beyond reproach. To endorse chaos in the "opposition" party is just flat out...it's fucked up. There really is no better way to say it. It's putting party above country. It's putting partisanship above compromise. And the scary thing is is that it actually works. There are actually people out there who take the time to go vote in a primary or caucus for no other reason than to attempt to the put the other party's nomination process into chaos. It's not right.

But it works. Not only has it been proven to have an impact in the outcome of a primary, it works in that it gets the other side thinking about retribution. I've said to Anya, "just wait until the Republicans have a close primary, I'm going to do the same thing." But then I realize that it's not right for me to do it either. But it works because it creates such an animosity between the two "sides" of the political spectrum.

And to add on to the Sean Hannity piece, the underlying issue in his attempt to drag Wright through the mud really highlights how ignorant he (and everyone who listens to him) is.

First off, it IS true that we were attacked on 9/11 because of our foreign policy. If they actually listened to the words Bin Laden said, instead of just dismissing him outright as being a loony brown-skinned man, they'd hear him saying EXACTLY WHY HE'S DOING WHAT HE'S DOING. It IS true that our country has a long history filled with slavery, forced segregation, and de facto segregation. And it IS true that there a) is inequality between whites, blacks, and latinos, and b) that these inequalities come as a direct result of the slavery and segregative policies that were endorsed by the US Government.

And to deny that this exists is ignorant. And not only is it ignorant, it's dismissive of our history. People in this country don't want to hear anything bad about our country's history. They always dismiss it outright: "Oh that was a long time ago." Slavery did end 150 years ago, but it's not like we were all holding hands, singing kumbaya in 1865. Or they think the left is over acting, "It's the blame America first crowd." As if knowing a comprehensive history of the United States and understanding common rules of cause and effect means that we get our socks off by bad mouthing our country.

Or they're too blinded by their own patriotism that they are borderline fanatical. These are the same people who don't like facts and they absolutely can't STAND something that defies their ideology. So Barack didn't have his hand over his heart. They say that it's because it was during the pledge even though it turns out that he didn't have his hand over his heart during the National Anthem. There goes those pesky facts. So Barack doesn't wear a friggin' flag lapel pin. They say it's because he's one of those unpatriotic leftists who "hates America"...or worse, he's not a true American in the first place. These are the same people who put out those "Treason" posters of Kennedy during the sixties.

There is just this whole segment of people out there who are just PISSED OFF! They're just an angry people. They have this constant chip on their shoulder at all times. And I don't freakin' get it. It defies logic to me.

Which is where I bring in last night's South Park. Are we just so toxic of a society that we're not capable of getting behind a candidate or a politician who represents bridging gaps and finding a common understanding?

I remember not long ago, I made a rather scathing attack on Joe Lieberman for his stance on the war. And there are those on the left that still can't stand the sight of Joe Lieberman. WHY? He's a pretty liberal politician who agrees with more left leaning issues than not. So why so much backlash? What has he done to piss off the left? No one's been able to explain it to me in a way that doesn't sound like they're mad because he "hurt the party." How? Are we so partisan that we can't disagree with someone for having a differing opinion? The left is just as capable of putting party above dissent.

It's the same thing with the right and John McCain. When you take an objective look at his record, he's a pretty conservative person. Does he agree with every single Republican stance? No. I think that's a good thing. Just like I've completely changed my perspective on Joe Lieberman. I don't want someone in office who always toes the party line. I think toeing the party line is what's got us in this mess that we're currently in.

So I ask you, is Barack too good for a politics that has a tendency to eat its young? Do we deserve a candidate who represents well thought out arguments and debates or do we deserve someone who relies on sound bites? Do we get a politician who attempts to bridge gaps and heal wounds or do we get a politician who toes the party line, no matter the collateral damage to the "other side."

Not to get too Protestant up in here, but we're going to get the candidate that we deserve. Or maybe I should say, we're going to get the politics reflecting who we really are. And that's what scares me.