"Is this who we are?"

While Sarah Palin is uniting the Republican party, she is quietly dividing the left. The response from the left to her selection as John McCain's running mate as been interesting to say the least.

Most of the smears aren't fit to re-print or even link to. The worst is a blogger who is pretending to blog as Palin's special needs young son Trig. Us Magazine has gotten in on the action, the Daily Kos is out of control (user comments are even better), and even mainstream media has participated.

Perhaps the most level and thoughtful question concerns Palin's ability to take office and continue to care for her children. A question NEVER asked of female candidates from that other party, NEVER asked of male candidates (even if single parents) from either party, and certainly NEVER, EVER asked of any woman seeking a career opportunity.

All of this ugliness and hatred is leaving reasonable Democrats asking themselves an important question; "Is this who we are?"

The short answer: Yes.

The long answer: Democrats are demonstrating their party values (or lack thereof) by putting victory before integrity and [gasp] gender equality. If Democrats are really after "hope" and "change," how do they expect to achieve hope and realize change when they so readily result to the typical Washington mudslinging?

This self-realization isn't even the worst part for the left. What's far worse is that mainstream Americans see themselves in Palin and her family. They may not all agree with the ideology and many don't like the track record, but they identify.

By relentlessly attacking Palin with these below the bar shots, the Democrats are attacking Americans--the same Americans they expect to go to polls and vote for them.