Funny, I don't recall seeing that 80% figure; doesn't mean it doesn't exist, of course, but that also doesn't mean one could plausibly accuse me of lying for not being aware of it. The fact that you fail to source your assertion would seem to indicate that if anyone is making stuff up here, Varian, it is, as always, yourself. Never mind the fact, more importantly, that the statement to which the idiotic 80% figure is attached -- about people "following" the story -- is meaningless. Of course they're "following" the story, when the MSM is cramming it down their gullets 24/7. Considering the round the clock play this story has received, the fact that people have resisted being brainwashed by it is nothing less than remarkable. Exit polls last night showed that among those for whom the Wright story was "important" Clinton indeed did very well; turns out that the portion of the electorate that really cares about Wright wasn't that great.

So choke on that word, "liar," will you, now, Varian? It couldn't possibly be clearer how things really stand, now.

As for your dim-witted statement that the different experiences of blacks in our country are merely "assumed," you know, geez, your stupidity defies argument here. It's like arguing with a child, as if we could wave away 200 years of American history and the palpable after-effects of that history in everyday life for tens of millions of people by claiming, in smarmy facile neocon fashion, that only a "racist" would "assume" that there was any real difference in the experiences of blacks and whites to begin with. How clever of you to turn the tables like that, throw the word "racist" back in your opponents' faces -- see, it's actually more racist to "assume" there ever was such a nightmare as systematic racism in our country, or that any effects or remnants of those institutions could still exist in today's America. ..... see, the conventional idea of racism is itself a racist myth.

In other words: the usual reactionary babytalk on race. If you want to know Rev. Wright's first-hand experiences of racism in his life, you should consult his narratives of being a black soldier in the US Army before it was integrated, among other themes. But something tells me you don't want to go that far into the facts of the situation. You're only interested in "facts" that can be spun to make it seem as if the legacy of racial problems in our country is just a big "lie" being perpetrated by the Obama campaign. What Obama stands for, on the other hand, as perfectly embodied in his relationship with Rev. Wright, is the ability to stand up to our racist past, in all its most toxic psychic and social after-effects, without denying their sources in historical reality, and then get past it, to move on to the next phase of our history with a chastened, salubrious, mature attitude.

As I predicted, the voters last night gave their definitive response to the Wright controversy. They've had quite enough of it. If you and your GOP hack pals are planning to use this issue to foist off McCain's 100 Year Neocon Rule in November, you might want to think again. The people who vote do have ways of separating the real issues from your carefully crafted bs, Varian.