We have seen numerous breathless letters to the editor as of late complaining of Republican "terrorism" and "hate crimes" because Obama signs have been vandalized in Whitman and Latah Counties.  Wonder what they would say about this story from Portland?

On Monday, two 23-year-old men were arraigned in an attack that involved hurling a Molotov cocktail at the Scruttons' campaign sign early Saturday.

The fire did little damage, but in the midst of a heated presidential campaign, the story spread over the Internet, picked up by local media and national sites such as the Drudge Report.

The sign -- 4-by-8 feet on two 6-foot posts and charred at the bottom -- remains in the Scruttons' small front yard at the corner of Southeast 17th Avenue and Miller Street. It features a life-size photo of McCain and the words: "Courageous Service. Experienced Leadership. Bold Solutions."

It wasn't the first time the Scruttons have been targeted because of their political views. Nor was it the last.

Shortly after Gene Scrutton put the sign up last month, someone scrawled racist graffiti on the couple's van, which they believe was an attempt to paint them as bigots against Sen. Barack Obama. And Sunday, while Scrutton was in the front yard, someone in a passing car yelled profanity at him.

In Washington, campaign signs for Republican State Senator Val Stevens have been burned and torn down and dozens of Dino Rossi signs were defaced and knocked-down in Thurston County.

Let's be clear.  As these stories illustrate, there are nuts on both sides of the political spectrum who, for whatever reason, perform these cretinous acts of vandalism.  However, it seems that Democrats are trying to get more mileage out of these incidents to further the  "sowing seeds of hatred" meme and to cover up their own presidential candidate's hobnobbing with REAL terrorists and racists.