Breaking! Barack Obama Loves America! Film at Noon!

I can't figure out if the seemingly endless stories about how some people believe dangerous crap about Obama are an accurate reflection of a disturbing and growing trend or if it's a result of journalists' bizarre wishful thinking, driven by preconceived notions about fly-over country and not a genuinely threatening undercurrent in American culture. I'm not sure if it is possible to know, aside from personally surveying everyone who's ever gotten a "Obama is a Muslim" email. Election day won't tell us much, either, unless all those gullible racists actually tell exit pollsters they voted against the gay black terrorist. And if he wins, well, we can ALL take credit, right? We're not racist anymore, world! We proved it!

Yes, I know sometimes just having something "in the air" can be damaging to a candidate, but the amount of time and energy the mainstream press is putting into debunking Obama myths* does make me think that there's a serious upside to those swirling rumors, and the campaign knows it. The more he can make big important speeches about big important issues (today it is Patriotism), the less time there is to talk about, and the less people will demand, other things, like specific plans for Iraq, or experience, or jobs, or any of the other things that might put him at risk of making a mistake or seeming "unpresidential." (Now, if they only had a presidential-type seal...)

Anyway: HE LOVES AMERICA. Just ask him. A speech along those lines starts at noon Eastern today.

* This frustrates the McCain camp to no end, obviously. They are not getting similar assists debunking McCain smears that are just as obnoxious if not so historically resonant. Used to be you could ignore the ugly stuff, but what with HuffPoseurs popping up at town halls to ask if he's actually called his wife That Word, I imagine they'd welcome a frontpage batting down of that rumor and others.