One thing is clear: this supposed great thinker of the left doesn't know what "penultimate" means. It means, not "intensified-ultimate," as he uses it here, but "second to last," as in the penultimate page of a novel, or "I am about to chew my penultimate piece of gum; would you like the last piece?" You couldn't have a "penultimate violation" unless you were talking about a series of violations, of which you are singling out the last-but-one.

In any case, it is sad that a so-called thinker could trot out such drivel as this:

the deciding factor in the election will likely be elites' perceptions of the probability that Bush can function without disastrous movement and international response and derivative destabilization. Leftists setting aside our antiwar and other activities will diminish rather than increase elite fears. Instead of boosting Kerry we need to provide visible signs that militant opposition is growing.

He is hopelessly obscure about who the "elites" are and what they are supposed to fear, suggesting that even HE doesn't quite know what he means here. But beyond that, it is simply another form of the spurious Naderite argument that "by being anti-Kerry activists we will actually help him win."

Funny how that line of reasoning didn't work the last time, though, isn't it?