All is fair in love, war, and politics? I think not...

For a few minutes, I was shamed by the implicit spirit of magnanimous forgiveness and inclusiveness in Barack Obama's acceptance speech in Chicago.

It was exactly the sort of thing I wanted to hear. It was the sort of thing I expected him to say when I voted for him -- and his apparently entirely genuine desire to work with those who oppose him is one of the things I admire most about him.

But... on sober reflection... there are things in the wake of this election that must be said.

And perhaps it must fall, at least in part, to people like me -- a disaffected, former Republican, someone who, once, was proud to support and vote for John McCain -- to say them.

This election does speak volumes about the genuine American spirit: open-mindedness, a willingness to see the other side, a willing to change deep habits of thinking, a falling of old stereotypes about all of us, of all colors and religions.


But voters were misled repeatedly, lies were told -- and told again and again , divisions -- racial, social, and religious -- were wedged open in the most egregiously cynical attempts to divide and conquer, an avalanche of dirty tricks and outlandish last minute campaign lies seemed in danger of burying the election -- sometimes with the active help of local election officials.

These lies, these tricks, this exploitation of fear and racial animosity was not just directed at Barack Obama and his supporters.

Their real target was the very heart of American democracy.

Of course, it didn't start with the McCain campaign. Racial triangulation, divide-and-conquer strategies played an important part in the primary and almost succeeded in sidelining the Obama candidacy in the primaries as a once-formidable political machine seemed to all but destroy itself using old tactics trying to attack its newest enemy.

The vile tactics engaged in by the worst elements opposing Barack Obama were outrageous and often self-defeating. But they were not limited to any one political machine or the most extreme elements. In the general election, officials of the Republican Party engaged in a raft of illegal -- and despicable -- dirty tricks, intentional misinformation of voters, and open intimidation and outright thuggery all played a role in the GOP effort to suppress the vote and defeat their opponents.

Exaggeration, misinformation, and outright lies were a hallmark of the McCain camplaign and even John McCain himself repeated outlandish and disreputable lies over and over. John McCain is a man I was once proud to contribute to and vote for. But he disgraced himself, the party, and his former supporters.

I plan to forgive.

But none of us should forget...