Previously we reported on the hoaxer who for some very misguided reason thought it would be a good idea to inform the police that she’d be the victim of a politically motivated attack by an Obama supporter. That was, obviously, an idiotic way to support her candidate, McCain.

Not to be outdone, though, the Obama supporters appear to be just as capable of finding dumb ways to support their candidate. Crying wolf was stupid. But voter intimidation and vandalism is utterly criminal, and degrades the political process to something feral. It would appear that one or more Obama activists thought it would be a great idea to dumb abusing graffiti on the homes and premises of some two dozen McCain supporters. When people stoop to this level, rather than addressing the issues, a campaign looks desperate.

It reminds one of a story Morton Blackwell tells, of two overzealous activists many moons ago. During an election cycle they were volunteering on a campaign. Their opponents had a blimp tethered above their campaign headquarters, and this evidently was to the chagrin of these two activists. One night, after a post-campaign drink or two too many they decided it’d be a great idea to fetch a firearm and shoot down the blimp, which they dully did. And they were dully caught be police trying to stuff the downed blimp into the boot of a car.

And as if all this wasn’t didactic enough, several bloggers have picked up on the story of the hanging a mannequin of Sarah Palin, excusing it as a ‘Hallowe’en prop’.

As has been repeatedly pointed out, if the mannequin was of Obama the allegations of racism would be immediate. Regardless of who the mannequin depicts, it’s a tasteless, base way of conducting politics which cannot be condoned.

It’s barely one step from here to the all too familiar news reports of chanting crowds burning the effigies of Western heads of state.