As America voted on Tuesday, reporter Michael Cooper (with help) posted a catch-all piece [1]on nytimes.com reviewing the campaign, including this bit of one-sided "ugliness."
For all the big issues, there were plenty of fleeting, insubstantial controversies as well. Mr. McCain mocked Mr. Obama as a substance-free celebrity, and Mr. Obama mocked Mr. McCain for being unable to remember how many homes he owned. At times the contest grew ugly, with Mr. McCain all but suggesting that Mr. Obama was a socialist for his tax-cut proposal, and Ms. Palin accusing Mr. Obama of "palling around with terrorists" for working sporadically with a former 1960s radical.
Nothing about Barack Obama accusing McCain of playing the race card, or the hostility expressed toward McCain and especially his running mate Gov. Sarah Palin by Obama supporters. And Times Watch doubts that McCain was referring strictly to Obama's proposed tax cuts as socialist. Wouldn't it be more likely that the Republican nominee was referring to Obama's promised tax hikes on those making over $250,000 a year?