On the climate of hate in this election - Anna McDonnell

You know how the Dow fell of a cliff yesterday afternoon? In case you missed it, it went something like this:

Shocking, right?

Now for the bad news. I think this graph perfectly represents what we, as a country, are doing in the last weeks of the Presidential election. The level of vitriol is so high, the distrust and suspicion of each side for the other so intense, the accusations so wild, the fear and the fury so palpable, that I keep thinking that somewhere in a cave in Pakistan, with his laptop on his knees, Osama Bin Laden is laughing his ass off.

PEOPLE, we have all got to take it down a notch.

So in the service of bringing all of us out of our angry corners, I offer the following thought experiment:

Imagine the candidates for President and Vice-President that you believe should not be allowed in the Oval Office, much less given the best seats in the house.

Now find something in those two candidates that you can genuinely appreciate.

I know. It’s hard. It kinda brings you up short, doesn’t it?.

I’ll go first: I genuinely appreciate John McCain’s service to his country, the fact that he didn’t take an early release from prison when it was offered, and that he has been a steadfast opponent of the use of torture by US personnel. I appreciate Sarah Palin’s ability to talk to voters without condescension and the way she make many of them feel deeply understood.

OK, your turn.

Leave your appreciation in the comments or feel free to go off and be appreciative on your own blog. Let me know if you do so I can keep track of all the good vibes we create.

Come on, do your part to wipe that smile off Bin Laden’s face.