Political intolerance and incivility by the left and right is as prevalent on the internet as porn, and not that much less a factor in the coarsening of our culture. But for many reporters, anger on the right side of the web is worrying and important story. The Huffington Post is a source.

Maureen Dowd, who usually offers readers little more than a few samples of her apparently limitless supply of silly pop culture tropes, this Sunday denounced Joe Wilson’s lack of impulse control and “lovelorn” Mark Sanford’s refusal to accept federal stimulus money as racist, and suspects the character defect is shared by most opponents to President Obama’s policies.

I’m more than a little familiar with that calumny, having been charged along with other senior members of the McCain campaign and our candidate with the same offense. We were somehow complicit with every intemperate jerk who shouted something obnoxious at any of our campaign events. Our ads about Democratic support for Fannie Mae were racist. Calling candidate Obama a “celebrity” was racist. Shouts of “murderer” or “warmonger” by Obama supporters or our opponent’s accusation that Senator McCain was anti immigrant or trying to steal grandma’s Medicare went largely unnoticed. And yet it was our candidate who often and publicly denounced crude or outrageous attacks on our opponent. The courtesy was seldom returned.