Republican Rage: "There was plenty of hatred in Manhattan, but it was inside, not outside, Madison Square Garden," writes Paul Krugman in another great essay:

Barack Obama, who gave the Democratic keynote address, delivered a message of uplift and hope. Zell Miller, who gave the Republican keynote, declared that political opposition is treason: "Now, at the same time young Americans are dying in the sands of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan, our nation is being torn apart and made weaker because of the Democrats' manic obsession to bring down our commander in chief." And the crowd roared its approval.

Why are the Republicans so angry? One reason is that they have nothing positive to run on (during the first three days, Mr. Bush was mentioned far less often than John Kerry).

The promised economic boom hasn't materialized, Iraq is a bloody quagmire, and Osama bin Laden has gone from "dead or alive" to he-who-must-not-be-named.

Another reason, I'm sure, is a guilty conscience. At some level the people at that convention know that their designated hero is a man who never in his life took a risk or made a sacrifice for his country, and that they are impugning the patriotism of men who have.

(Thanks, Kemi.)

The Two Faces of Zell: Democratic turncoat Zell Miller's website still contains an introduction he made for John Kerry in 2001 where he called the Senator "one of this nation's authentic heroes, one of this party's best-known and greatest leaders – and a good friend." The praise continues, with Miller stating that "one of our very highest priorities must be to make sure this man is re-elected in 2002 so he can continue to serve this state and nation." Flip. Flop. (Cached, just in case.)

The task at hand: As Kerry lashes back, calling Bush "unfit to lead this country" for "misleading" us into war and saying he's "going to leave it up to the voters to decide whether [Cheney's] five deferments make someone more qualified than two tours of duty," veterans of the Iraq war have a novel suggestion for the candidates: debate Iraq, not Vietnam (Via Cursor.)

Resources for radicals (or solid lefties): Metafilter links to Selves and Others, a site that lets you track new writings by great writers like George Monbiot, Naomi Klein, and Howard Zinn. (RSS feed here.)