Public Reason in the Current Campaign

Commenting on Rob's post about Palin, Rick says:

As I see it (and, to be sure, there's probably no point in elaborating -- at this point, we all think what we all think), misplaced populism, uncritical sloganeering, hostility toward questions directed at factual predicates, and ugly hostility toward those who come to different judgments about policy vehicles are (at least) at present, bigger problems on the political left than on the political right (which is not to say that anyone is innocent).

Misplaced populism and ugly hostility are bigger problems on the left?  I feel like we must be watching different campaigns.  (Given the ideological fragmentation of the media, it's quite possible that we are, I suppose.)  Here's a description of some recent McCain rallies:

McCain was speaking today in New Mexico, doing his usual personal attack on Barack Obama, as the stock market plummeted (you can see the ticker next to McCain on the screen, an apt reminder of what McCain and his fellow Republicans represent), and McCain asked the crowd "who is Barack Obama?" Immediately you hear someone yell "terrorist."

The Secret Service is following up on media reports today that someone in the crowd at a McCain/Palin event suggested killing Barack Obama, according to Secret Service spokesman Malcolm Wiley. The shout of "kill him" followed a Sarah Palin rant on Obama's relationship with radical Chicagoan Bill Ayers.

And here's a description of a recent exchange over at NRO:

It all starts when David Frum asks:

"Does anybody really seriously believe that Barack Obama is a secret left-wing radical? And if not, then what is this fuss and fury supposed to show?"

There follow a series of posts at The Corner which basically answer: yes. Jonah Goldberg:

"Well, yes. Lots of people do. For me, it depends on what you mean by "radical" ..."

Mark Levin:

"How can anyone who actually follows this stuff, who reads Freddoso, Kurtz, and scores of other reliable sources of information, conclude that Obama is not some wild-eyed radical?"

Andy McCarthy:

"If you accept the premise that he was a radical, how has he changed such that he should no longer be considered a radical? Obviously, he is very smooth and he presents himself as a reasonable, moderate fellow. But that doesn't affect substance."

There follow several more posts, and then we get to the pièce de resistance, from McCarthy again:

"Obama's radicalism, beginning with his Alinski/ACORN/community organizer period, is a bottom-up socialism. This, I'd suggest, is why he fits comfortably with Ayers, who (especially now) is more Maoist than Stalinist. What Obama is about is infiltrating (and training others to infiltrate) bourgeois institutions in order to change them from within -- in essence, using the system to supplant the system. A key requirement of this stealthy approach (very consistent with talking vaporously about "change" but never getting more specific than absolutely necessary) is electability. With an enormous assist from the media, which does not press him for specifics, Obama has walked this line brilliantly. Absent convincing retractions of his prior radical positions, though, we should construe shrewd moves like the ostensibly reasonable Second Amendment position as efforts make him electable.

This is why Ayers is so important: it is a peek behind the curtain of Obama's rhetoric."

Closer to home, we have Richard S.'s description of Obama as a leader of the Culture of Death.  What does that make those of us who support him?  Acolytes of the Evil One?  Talk about a conversation stopper.

Perhaps there are comparable examples of this sort of thing from the left, although I can't think of any that go quite as far in eschewing reasoned debate.  But, even if there were, are there any that are worse so as to justify Rick's assertion that this is somehow more of a problem on the left at the moment?

UPDATE:  Here's a McCain campaign co-chair

Appearing on Dennis Miller's radio show, Keating charged that the Democratic nominee was covering up his "very extreme" record, and urged Obama to be more honest with Americans. "He ought to admit," Keating said, "'You know, I've got to be honest with you. I was a guy of the street. I was way to the left. I used cocaine. I voted liberally, but I'm back at the center.'"

And one more, for good measure. 

UPDATE II:  Lest I be accused of MSM-fueled alarmism, here's David Gergen:

On CNN last night, David Gergen, a Republican advisor to Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Clinton, commented on the "anger" evident at McCain/Palin rallies of late. "There is this free floating sort of whipping around anger that could really lead to some violence," Gergen said. "I think we're not far from that."  When Anderson Cooper expressed skepticism about whether violence was likely, Gergen said he "really worries" given "the kind of rhetoric" coming from the Republican ticket.