Joseph Bottum has a bracing post looking at the reaction in some precincts of the left to the smears being spread about Sarah Palin and her family. When some commenters on the Daily Kos site complained that the smearing of Palin was beyond the pale, other commenters objected to the objection. Sample response: "If health insurance for all, an end to the Iraq War, an end to torture and illegal wiretapping, and a sane energy policy can be obtained at the price of destroying one teenage girl, her family, and the surrendering our self-respect I see that as a cheap trade." Another commenter adds, "Are you telling me that you would not use character-destroying lies to ensure a war against Iran does not occur? . . . What choice do we have? When faced with monsters, we have to be monstrous ourselves."