IS JOHN McCAIN A "DELIBERATIST"?

I've been seeing a trend on the right, and I just made up a name for it -- "deliberatism."

Deliberatists are right-wingers who believe not only that Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats are destroying the country (all right-wingers believe that) but that Obama and the Dems doing it on purpose. I mentioned this line of thinking a couple of days ago when I quoted a review of recent books by Glenn Beck, Dick Morris, Mark Levin, and others; the best-known exponent of this theory is Rush Limbaugh,who told Greta Van Susteren last summer, "President Obama and the Democrats are destroying the U.S. economy. They are purposely doing it, I believe" and said a couple of months earlier on his radio show, "The objective is unemployment. The objective is more food stamp benefits. The objective is more unemployment benefits. The objective is an expanding welfare state." Deliberatists believe that Democrats' ultimate purpose is to create permanent dependence on government.

You expect that kind of talk from Limbaugh and from teabag-friendly writers of right-wing screeds. But, um, John McCain? Don't teabaggers think he's a horrible RINO? Don't veteran D.C. pundits believe he's the epitome of centrist integrity?

So why, in his new reelection ad, does he say this?

"President Obama is leading an extreme left-wing crusade to bankrupt America."

He's not saying "crusade that will bankrupt America." That would be harsh, but within the pale. He's saying crusade "to bankrupt America" -- i.e., intended to bankrupt America.

That's deliberatist. That's something his ex-running mate would say. It seems like a dog whistle to Palinite/teabagger voters, who I assume are as likely to be deliberatists as they are to be birthers and deathers.