Similar hysteria, got us to go to war with Spain in 1898, and in Iraq in 2003. Such hysteria requires an object of hatred. It can be anything, Saddam Hussein, Jews, Blacks, Communists, Atheists, or any group that you don't belong to, or individual who leads a movement.
Almost all Dailykos participants, many Democrats and the Editorial Board of the NY Times have caught the bug. Once there is a perception of unanimity, there is an escalation of hatred, with no one to suggest that the consensus has become unmoored from reality. The latest expression of this insane hatred is that Senator Clinton's gaffe was a threat against Senator Obama.
And no one calls this what it is, insanity. I wrote a diaryabout this yesterday referring to Robert Kennedy's son's reasonable reaction to this.
For the first time, I will not be answering any comments.