Kristol: McCain opponents hate America

BREAKING: Mitt-mentum! (more updates below).

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William Kristol has been a chief cheerleader on the Crazy Cousin John bandwagon. As I recall, Mr. Kristol's Weekly Standard -- as part of its patented "National Greatness" campaign -- was pushing McCain in 2000, and Fred Barnes' sycophancy for McCain has been as shameless as the disgustingly hagiographic tonguebath he performed on Dubya.

Now, in the pages of the New York Times -- via Hot Air Headlines -- Mr. Kristol bids us admire his handiwork:

When the primaries are over, if McCain has won the day, don’t sulk and don’t sit it out. Don’t pretend there’s no difference between a candidate who’s committed to winning in Iraq and a Democratic nominee who embraces defeat.

Notice this tactic: To fail to support John McCain -- the candidate whom Mr. Kristol and his associates have labored diligently to impose on an unwilling Republican Party -- is to unpatriotically endorse defeat in Iraq.

He decides who the candidate is, then slanders those who disapprove. Nice work if you can get it.

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UPDATE: Demonstrating a favorite Stupid Blogger Trick of mine, I will now find a timely related thread, link it in an update, and trackback. Bryan Preston at Hot Air:

Speaker Pelosi thanks you, Maverick.

UPDATE II: Ragnar weighs in at The Jawa Report, Don Surber seems to be chilling a bit toward the "bandwagon effect" and -- I tell you people, it's a miracle -- Romney pulls ahead in California.

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All three links via Memeorandum, the aggregator preferred by all really cool bloggers. Click Memeorandum, or Hugo Chavez will strangle a cute kitten.

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UPDATE III: Courtesy of commenter "RushBaby" at Hot Air, we learn that Crazy Cousin John's rating from the American Conservative Union -- frequently stated as a lifetime 82 -- actually has been below 70 since 1998. There is also a complete article on the subject by Randall Hoven at AmericanThinker.com.

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UPDATE IV: Malkin's "Mitt-mentum" post observes the pro-McCain tactics:

Meanwhile, McCain’s champions continue their efforts to deride and marginalize opponents. First, they were deranged and Kossack-like. Now, they need to “grow
up” (Barnes invoking Barry Goldwater) and get over their “dyspepsia” (Kristol in the NYT). Translation: Don’t worry, be happy, shut up.

Michelle's post also offers a treasure-trove of evidence that the anti-McCain backlash is building into a Super Tuesday tsunami:

• Powerline's Paul Mirengoff endorses Romney.
• Romney leads in Georgia.
• Romney gains in Missouri.
• Hewitt counts the delegates.

Hey, answer the phone: It's Rick Santorum!

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Finally, some timely strategic advice:

Always mystify, mislead and surprise the enemy; and when you strike and overcome him, never let up in the pursuit. Never fight against heavy odds if you can hurl your own force on only a part of your enemy and crush it. A small army may thus destroy a large one, and repeated victory will make you invincible.

UPDATE V: John Derbyshire:

I'm trying my best here to avoid McCain Derangement Syndrome.

Oh, give in to the urge, Derb!

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UPDATE VI: Martha Zoller:

It's been said that John McCain is the only one who can beat the opposition Democrats. Let's remember another nominee who was told that his opponent was the one who could beat the Democrats. His name was Ronald Reagan. If we've learned anything in this election cycle, it is that polls don't mean much unless they
have voting booths.

Previously: The Decider has decided.