I got this from my cuz shortysugarplum. It's an article in the Wall Street Journal (actually, it's an opinion piece by Thomas Frank) about how Palin and the GOP are recycling platitudes for the masses "from the all-time champion of fake populism, the belligerent right-wing columnist Westbrook Pegler." He goes on to say "the red-state myth that Mrs. Palin reiterated for her adoring audience owes far more to the venomous spirit of Pegler than it does to Norman Rockwell." Interesting.

He then goes on to talk about the attitudes (and voting records) of both candidates in regards to issues concerning farming. "A few days ago I talked politics with Donn Teske, the president of the Kansas Farmers Union and a former Republican. Barack Obama may come from a big city, he admits, but the Farmers Union gives him a 100% rating for his votes in Congress. John McCain gets a 0%. "If any farmer in the Plains States looked at McCain's voting record on ag issues," Mr. Teske says, "no one would vote for him."

Now, Mr. McCain is known for his straight talk with industrial workers, telling them their jobs are never coming back, that the almighty market took them away for good, and that retraining is their only hope.

But he seems to think that small-town people can be easily played. Just choose a running mate who knows how to skin a moose and all will be forgiven. Drive them off the land, shutter their towns, toss their life chances into the grinders of big agriculture . . . and praise their values. The TV eminences will coo in appreciation of your in-touch authenticity, and the carnival will move on."

See the whole piece here.