As Col. Potter would say, "Horse Hockey!"

I did more of the same last night, watching with a consistent cringe on my face, occasionally with my fingers in my ears to block out the nonsense. And then I again gave up, this time to watch "Titanic." The boat sinks and beautiful Jack dies, but at least I knew the outcome in the beginning and could prepare myself for the disaster ahead. No matter whose ship you're sailing on, someone's going to sink.

For the sake of all Americans, I know which life raft I trust to keep me afloat and send me safe to the next harbor.

In the meantime, I'll share an email I received from Barack's campaign manager following last evening's spewfest...

Amy --

I wasn't planning on sending you something tonight. But if you saw what I saw from the Republican convention, you know that it demands a response.

I saw John McCain's attack squad of negative, cynical politicians. They lied about Barack Obama and Joe Biden, and they attacked you for being a part of this campaign.

But worst of all -- and this deserves to be noted -- they insulted the very idea that ordinary people have a role to play in our political process.

You know that despite what John McCain and his attack squad say, everyday people have the power to build something extraordinary when we come together.

Both Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin specifically mocked Barack's experience as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago more than two decades ago, where he worked with people who had lost jobs and been left behind when the local steel plants closed.

Let's clarify something for them right now.

Community organizing is how ordinary people respond to out-of-touch politicians and their failed policies.

And it's no surprise that, after eight years of George Bush, millions of people have found that by coming together in their local communities they can change the course of history. That promise is what our campaign has been about from the beginning.

Throughout our history, ordinary people have made good on America's promise by organizing for change from the bottom up. Community organizing is the foundation of the civil rights movement, the women's suffrage movement, labor rights, and the 40-hour workweek. And it's happening today in church basements and community centers and living rooms across America.

Meanwhile, we still haven't gotten a single idea during the entire Republican convention about the economy and how to lift a middle class so harmed by the Bush-McCain policies.

It's now clear that John McCain's campaign has decided that desperate lies and personal attacks -- on Barack Obama and on you -- are the only way they can earn a third term for the Bush policies that McCain has supported more than 90 percent of the time.

But you can send a crystal clear message.

Enough is enough. Make your voice heard loud and clear.

Thank you for joining more than 2 million ordinary Americans who refuse to be silenced.

David Plouffe
Campaign Manager
Obama for America