By Lahle Wolfe

My fellow bloggers and valued readers, I have seen a very interesting dynamic in the blog comments on Women in Business. Almost without exception those who support McCain have stated anyone voting otherwise is un-American and ignorant (that is being polite), and nothing short of selfish. The sources they site are anything but bipartisan or neutral to offer persuasive informed debate, but are slanted and filled with mistruths (again, being polite).

This is the kind of political evangelism that McCain has employed almost exclusively until recently in his campaign, and it has not worked. I have heard more about why I should not vote Obama than why I should vote McCain.

Palin was a mistake that McCain simply cannot recover from; she is just not ready. His negative and counterproductive tactics have resulted in historic infighting (usually seen among Democrats) that further separates even Republicans. We cannot rewind, even with the best of revisionist propaganda. McCain has lost this election by his own hand; not by any one thing Obama has or has not done.

That is my election prediction.

This week, I received a forwarded spam mail from a friend. It was full of spit and bigotry and intolerance. The email was titled “Memo to the Red States,” and began: “If you manage to steal this election we’ve decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and we're taking the other Blue States with us. “

The email further goes on to list, in bitter divorce style, who gets what:

• “You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states. We get stem cell research and the best beaches. We get the Statue of Liberty. You get Dollywood.

• We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom.

• We get Harvard. You get Ole' Miss.

• We get 85% of America's venture capital and entrepreneurs. You get Alabama.

• We get two-thirds of the tax revenue, you get to make the red states pay their fair share.

• Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22% lower than the Christian Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single moms.”

The longer the email went on, the nastier it got. I hope that this election goes down as “what not to do” and “how not to treat people,” and in this case, I am not referring to our candidates.

Our economy is not the only thing that needs to be made whole again. But we cannot blame McCain or Obama for the infighting among ourselves. For that, we must accept responsibility.

This week's previous posts (most recent first): It's the Final Countdown, Goodbye Gordo, Fight For Freedom, Don't Blame the Voters, Young Voter, Republican Fairytales, Conspiracy of Silence, A Radical Shift In Power, Risks and Rewards