New gold standard in attack politics

The McCain campaign has proven a new tactic to blunt the popular impact of an opponent's overseas trip: Barrage the opponent with attacks from every angle.

You can bet that the Republican minority will do this, albeit more subtly, when President Obama takes his first official trip abroad. It worked! Who cares about tradition? Not the so-called conservatives. If the Constitution hasn't stood in the way, mere custom surely won't.

Remember always, with the Republicans, there's only one thing that matters above all. Truth? You're kidding! Security? Nope. The budget deficit and small government? Don't make me laugh. A 1950s social environment? Only the appearance of it.

What matters to Republicans is power and with it the ability to enrich their friends and to reduce their friends' taxes.