Hand me that ratchet

In a bid to establish equivalency, nearly every news media outlet has been telling us for the last week or so that "both sides are ratcheting up the rhetoric" in the final stretch of this electoral campaign. I've disagreed, being of the opinion that Bush is just stumping more often, but saying pretty much what he's been saying all along, and that the Kerry camp is the only one really getting foamy about the mouth. While I haven't found anyone yet who's noted that escalation from the Bush side of the ballot yet, Rodger from This Isn't Writing, It's Typing seems to have made the same observation about the Kerry camp -

In the past 10 days or so, the Kedwards campaign has:

• Accused the Bush administration of planning to reinstitute a military draft.
• Recycled the "no blood for oil" canard of the looney left.
• Alleged that the Bush administration is somehow in the pocket of the Saudi royal family.
• Told voters that, if they elect John Kerry, "people like Christopher Reeve are going to walk, get up out of that wheelchair and walk again."
• Suggested that President Bush was planning a "January surprise" to privatize Social Security.
• Advised Democratic campaign workers to launch a "pre-emptive strike" charging voter "intimidation" on election day even if no evidence exists.
• Warned Florida voters that Republicans are "trying to keep people from voting."
• Blamed the flu vaccine shortage on President Bush.
• Twice called attention to the fact that Mary Cheney is a lesbian.

If you didn't know better, you might think they were getting desperate.

Are the Republicans really anywhere near this? The feckless media's being handled day by day, but the Democrat party may require a name change to effect honest recognition of it's character - maybe it's time to rename it The Populist Party.