If all this debate foofaraw doesn’t give you a sharp little frisson of delight with each tightening of the identity-politics noose around liberal necks, you maybe oughta check your pulse:

At some point amid the hailstorm of criticism that greeted ABC’s handling of yesterday’s Dem debate, moderator George Stephanopoulos received an email — one of the many, many missives about the debate he’s received — from an Obama adviser.

“Feel like a candidate today?” the adviser asked.

In an interview with me moments ago, Stephanopoulos strongly defended his handling of the debate. He dismissed criticism that it had focused too heavily on “gotcha” questions, arguing that they had gone to the heart of the “electability” that, he said, is forefront in the minds of voters evaluating the two Dems.

“Overall, the questions were tough, fair, relevant, and appropriate,” Stephanopoulos argued. And he rejected the claim by many Obama supporters that the debate had been stacked against him, saying Hillary had faced sharp questioning, too.

The spectacle of various halfwit headcases accusing as diehard a liberal partisan as George Stillfoolallofus of being a GOP shill is merely one amusing aspect of a Democrat primary season that has run the gamut from high comedy all the way to low farce.

But wait, there’s more! The Obamessiah is trying to take those tough-question lemons and make lemonade. Laudable, usually; but how is America’s last-hope proponent of Hope, Change, and a Different Kind of Politics going about it? Why, by turning it into a politics-as-usual fundraising opportunity, natch!

David Plouffe, Obama’s campaign manager, sends out this e-mail to, well, everyone:

Jim —

Did you see the debate last night?

If you did, you saw more gotcha politics and distractions than questions about the pressing issues affecting our country.

In fact, it took more than 45 minutes before Barack was asked about the economy, health care, or foreign policy.

Regrettably, Senator Clinton seemed all too comfortable with that type of debate. She’s running a 100% negative campaign in Pennsylvania, taking every opportunity to make personal and discredited attacks against Senator Obama.

You can send a message that politics doesn’t have to be played this way.

Make your first donation today, and someone who’s already given will match whatever amount you decide to give. You can double your impact, and you’ll even get to see the name and town of the fellow supporter matching your first online gift.

Will you make a $25 donation now?

Look, you bitter, clinging AmeriKKKan bastards, if you really want me to lead you to the Promised Land of Hopeychanginess, you’re gonna have to loosen up them pursestrings! Apparently, you establish the foundation of a New Politics by resorting to the same old methods as the Old ones. Fighting Capitalist Evil takes big bucks, y’know. Geraghty bats away the buzzing Nutroots blowflies with a casual wave of the hand:

Oh, once in a while we’ll see McCain get a bit curt with a New York Times reporter on his plane. I remember him getting surprisingly defensive in response to a question about Israel on one of those blogger calls, and I’m sure we all remember the “thanks for the question, you little jerk. You’re drafted!” (which everyone at the event understood as a joke, but was easy to take out of context). But all in all, McCain’s off-key answers have been pretty small potatoes. When the New York Times did that inane front-page story insinuating, but never quite coming out and accusing him of having an affair with a lobbyist, he took every question until no one had any left.

Meanwhile, Obama gets a couple questions on unpleasant topics — do you understand why your San Francisco comment bothered some Pennsylvanians? Why did you ask Jeremiah Wright to not play a role in your campaign kickoff? Why don’t you wear a flag pin? Can you explain your relationship with William Ayers? — and his supporters go apoplectic, some even screaming Obama should retaliate against ABC as President. And his campaign whines that it’s “gotcha politics and distractions.”

Hey, welcome to the big leagues, rookie. You’re gonna get some questions you’re not going to like. Not everybody gets to have their main opponent’s bid implode when their divorce records are unsealed and compete against Alan Keyes in a general election.

Who the hell ever put it into this guy’s head that he was remotely ready to play in the bigs, anyway? Or was it just his own monstrous ego that led him to this dismal pass? Either way, the entertainment value we’re getting from these flea-bitten buffoons would be a bargain at twice the price. It’s a sorry substitute for good government, but who expects that from these guys anyway?

Update! I only just figured it out, dense as I am: what Obamachrist means by “a different kind of politics” is one in which he wins by general and unreflective acclaim, without ever encountering any of the sort of difficulty, or even mild skepticism, that all the other candidates throughout recent history have. It’s not a run for political office so much as it is a religious crusade, and the tenor of some of his more foamy supporters tends to lend credence to that idea.

There is simply no room for doubt in this faith community — you convert with your whole heart, and from that point on any reservations aren’t tolerated. Indeed, such dubiety is treated more like sacrilege, demanding the strongest condemnation the flock can spew forth. “No questions! HE IS THE OBAMESSIAH! By their questions shall ye see the serpent gnawing at their heart. Come ye unto Him, and rejoice!”

If this pack of political Puritans ever does get real power, I’m gonna be burned at the stake.

First we had The Most Holy Church of Climate Change, now the Cult of Obama. What is it with some people and their frantic quest for a substitute for traditional religious faith, anyway?