"Americans ought to be able to ask Senator Obama tough questions without being smeared and targeted with political attacks."

"Americans ought to be able to ask Senator Obama tough questions without being smeared and targeted with political attacks."

That's from Senator McCain's defense of Joe the Plumber, who's become Public Enemy #1 for the left -- simply for having had the temerity to ask Barack Obama a question that Barack now, doubtless, wishes he had answered differently.

One of the (many) great underreported stories of this campaign has been the left -- and the media's -- effort to silence dissent about the greatness of The One.

Obama Action Wire alerts have been disseminated in order to intimidate radio stations that dare air the views of Obama critics.

Then there was the Missouri Obama Truth Squad, made up of law enforcement and prosecutors, which threatened a "vigorous response" to any "misleading" criticism of the Obamessiah.

At least one pundit -- me ;) -- has had commentary invitations withdrawn from an MSM outlet because pro-McCain/Palin views are not welcome.

As I noted earlier this week, there's a deliberate effort on the part of the Obama campaign and the press to silence and marginalize Obama critics -- a troubling precedent, should Barack win. Will we then be "dissuaded" from criticizing the President?

It's ironic that, after spending eight years screaming about the supposed "suppression of dissent" by the Bush administration, the left's own behavior is what really bears the whiff of totalitarianism.

Any "civil rights" that were supposedly jeopardized by the Bush Administration (critics still haven't provided specifics) were in the service of protecting us from a murderous terrorist enemy. The left's effort at speech suppression is in service of a political candidate. It's a telling difference.