Halloween theme overplayed in politics this year

Is it just me or did all involved overplay the halloween theme this year in political/policy circles? Every year there's at least one or two press hits at Halloween about what's "really scary." But this week I felt like it was a constant barrage of increasingly desperate and hateful emails from campaigns or organizations all with almost identical language:

This year for Halloween, dress up as someone really scary, "a right winger," "a Republican," "a prison guard," or "a supporter of compromise health care plans."

Strangely, I expected to see the corollary on the right--about how scary liberals are. Maybe it's because I'm not on any of their listserves, but I couldn't find it. I thought if People for the American Way is helping me dress up as the terrifying specter of Ann Coulter, surely someone has put together an Al Frankenstein costume?

Okay, I was able to find the Minnesota College Republicans Youtube posting on Al Frankenstein, but is that all?

Frankly, the whole theme needs to be put back in its grave for a couple of more years. These tired undead advertisements are mostly very boring and predictable.

Exception (and yes, I'm an Edwards supporter). I did find this alternate reality front page from the Edwards campaign both truly scary and funny. So if you're going to do it, be really really clever.

More on Edwards

In the self-referential world of blogging, I feel the need to link above to the California Progress Report, which has put my post here from yesterday up as their post for today--so this week I'm one day ahead of the best blog on California politics ;)

More importantly, everyone who has responded to my post yesterday has said that they're for Edwards too. Of course, this is probably self-selecting. My Obama-supporting friends may just be lying low--still, this is their chance to make their pitch to me. No one so far, in my limited circles, has made the case for Hillary (although I know that some female legislators I respect, such as state Senator Sheila Kuehl, are high on her).

And, according to yesterday's California Progress Report, Edwards gave a helluva speech Sunday which converted some of the crowd.

My radical New York Times and Nation-reading, social studies teaching friend Sandra Childs in Portland, Oregon reports that Obama gave a very pro Israel speech to the Israeli lobby and speaks well of Edwards work on poverty in the last few years.

So, keep the information and opinions coming folks, the election's only 10 months away :).