And slowly... the smear begins

This post by The Rev. provided the harbinger of what could be expected from the astroturf operators of the Republican election machinery. And, as sure as green apples will irritate your bowels, it's already started.

The word is out and Clif picked up on one moron who couldn't resist running Grover Norquist's message without checking a single fact.

What is more interesting however, is what is going on in Wikipedia. Last week there was no mention of Barack Obama in Bill Ayers' entry.

By Saturday, the 16th a line appeared, without citation, that said:

Ayers is a strong supporter of Barack Hussein Obama.

Today, obviously after some of the Wikipedia editors got to it, the line now appears:

Ayers is a strong supporter of Barack Obama. [citation needed]

So, the editors of Wikipedia did two things: 1) They removed the reference to Obama's middle name, and, 2) They indicated that there is no reference to suggest that the line may actually be true.

The actual truth is somewhat different. Ayers contributed $200 to Obama's 2001 campaign for the Illinois state Senate. That's it. Beyond that, Ayers has said diddly-squat.

In fact, the editors of Wikipedia, either unintentionally or with calculation, are perpetuating a disingenuous lie.

The thing to watch for now is the activity of two of the Republican party's real scumballs: Ralph Reed and Tom Synhorst.

We've already heard from Grover Norquist, who is a mean-spirited, humorless, dishonest little creep. An embarrassing anomaly, the leering, drunken uncle everyone else wishes would stay home. Norquist is repulsive.

My words? Hardly. They come from a member of the Republican noise-machine. None other than Tucker Carlson.

As John Cole points out, the front-runner in the Republican race has a giant millstone around his neck, (which Karl Rove helped put there). Maybe Wikipedia could pick up on that.