Dean has a good post, on a subject I touched on yesterday:

Charlie Cook has a good piece on Real Clear Politics about Political Venom--and before one of you lefties barks that Real Clear Politics is a right-wing site (it is) please note that Cook has a long and respected record as a non-partisan political analyst, and he's taking swipes at everyone here:

I am deeply troubled by the tenor of current political discourse in this country. More and more Republicans don't just disagree with Democrats, they despise them—and vice versa. People don't just challenge someone's views, they challenge the other person's integrity. Enjoyable, informative, and civil discussions between people with different points of view are becoming rare.

The rest is good. Read the whole thing, then come back here.

I'm not sure it's quite as bad as it seems, although there are certain people who I certainly get intemperate with, certain subjects where I get very, very intemperate. These subjects include communists, fascists, holocaust denialists, and totalitarians of all stripes. Just test me on any of those subjects, and I'll admit it: the foam comes right out of me. What's more, I don't care if people don't like it.

Read the whole post. I have had my run-ins with Dean, but I have found that I have come to respect and like him. In fact, we have even found some things in common. But he hits on some good points. There are few people I truly dislike in the Blogsphere (I refuse to say hate). I wont mention names or blogs, it is clear to my readers who I refer too.

At one time I was known as a person who could carry on conversations with both sides of the debate. And that is still true in some cases, but I have found that many on the Right want to "dictate," the terms of the debate. I often use questions, as a form of generating discussion on my Blog. Many of them are simply ignored. On the "Bush lied," point Dean brings up, I believe he lied, has lied on a number of issues, not just the reasons for entering a war in Iraq. The problem I have is that those on the Right dont even want to consider that he may have lied. I said "I BELIEVE", not "I KNOW". The difference is that Right Wingers KNOW he didn't. How can you have that kind of discussion?

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