Classic Simpsons Moment Defines the 2008 Presidential Election

The classic episode in which Sideshow Bob (Bart’s arch enemy and a man who has recently been released from prison) is running for mayor against the current incument Mayor Joe Quimby. Sideshow Bob runs an ad which says the following:

Voice: Mayor Quimby supports revolving door prisons. Mayor Quimby even released Sideshow Bob. A man twice convicted of attempted murder. Can you trust a man like mayor Quimby? Vote Sideshow Bob for Mayor.

We’ve seen this in this election time and time again, whether it’s John McCain accusing Barack Obama of wanting higher taxes on electricity when he supports basically the same policy (cap-and-trade), or Barack Obama attacking John McCain for flip-flopping on a bailout that his own running mate flipped on as well. Or John McCain attacking Obama for voting on a nonbinding budget resolution that approved of letting the Bush tax cuts expire (those same tax cuts McCain opposed) while Obama criticizes McCain for voting against the pork-ridden energy bill of 2005 that most principled liberals (like Joe Biden) opposed as being corporate handouts.