I can't stand punk men who lay hands on women.

Any man who finds the need to hit a woman should make it his mission to stand up to a man and see what happens. Go mano a mano , and then we can determine how big and bad you are.

When I examine the pathetic and sordid attempts of the Hate Barack Obama forces to malign and slime his wife, they all fit in that category. And instead of reveling in their pathetic behavior, every stand-up person should blast them at every turn.

In case anyone has forgotten, when voters go to the polls in November, they will be voting for either Sen. John McCain or Sen. Barack Obama. Cindy McCain won't be on the ballot, and no one will be voting on the policies of Michelle Obama.

But when you listen to some of these righteous conservative blowhards, you would think that Michelle Obama is the one who soon will pick a vice presidential running mate and stand before the Democratic Party in Denver and accept their nomination for president.

Don't misunderstand me; I have long maintained that people who go on the campaign trail and openly campaign for someone should be willing to face media scrutiny based on what they have to say. During the primary season, the Clinton campaign was dead wrong to have Chelsea Clinton stumping for her mom while she was treated as if she was still a teenager in the White House who needed to be shielded from the press. In 2000 and 2004, Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne, were angry at the mere mention of their lesbian daughter, but when she was on the road speaking on behalf of Cheney and George W. Bush, it was absolutely acceptable for folks to question the Cheneys' views on homosexuality and public policy.

Yet what we are seeing right now from some conservatives and liberals is downright disgraceful, and it shows their lack of a moral compass.

Take, for instance, this whole discussion about "The Tape."

All this crap started with a Hillary Clinton supporter, Larry Johnson, who wrote an item saying the Republicans have a videotape showing Michelle Obama speaking in a derogatory fashion about whites. Then we saw the shock jock Mancow Muller, who wouldn't know what journalism was if it slapped the fool in the face, go on the Fox affiliate in Chicago and swear that the tape exists and will be released.

Even bumbling idiots such as Rush Limbaugh have openly discussed the contents of the tape, but there is one huge problem: It doesn't exist!

For all the bluster, blog postings of detailed transcripts and such, no one has come forward and produced the tape. Some have said it is being held as an October surprise by the GOP, but don't you think that if all of these nut jobs actually had seen the tape, someone would have leaked it to YouTube or the favorite channel of the conservative hate crowd, Fox News Channel, so that little ball of hate, Sean Hannity, could play it ad nauseam?

Without the evidence, this is an absolute lie, and any cable news network should order their anchors, reporters and producers not to allow this shameful rumor — and others that are false — to be mentioned on their networks.

This is the kind of despicable politics that people are tired of. Here is an accomplished woman who is tough, strong and smart, and they resort to such tactics just to try to bring her husband down.

Again, if she were the nominee, go at her full blast (within reason), but she's not; her husband is.

What I would like to see are these same God-loving conservatives stand up to the forces of hate on their side and tell them that their actions are not those of Christlike folks, but political terrorists. And yes, if there are political terrorists on the left who would make up lies about Cindy McCain, then they should be exorcised from our lives, as well. Call them out publicly; denounce them; and hold them up to ridicule and shame for their actions.

Civility is important, whether it's on the job or in a presidential campaign. We can hold candidates, their spouses and surrogates responsible for misstatements, contradictory proposals, or hypocrisy, but when we see the outright fabrication of events, any decent person should speak out forcefully against these political terrorists.

We had better take a stand now because if they are allowed to run amok in June, only God knows what despicable things they will say in the fall.

Roland S. Martin is an award-winning CNN contributor and the author of "Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith." Please visit his Web site at www.RolandSMartin.com. To find out more about Roland S. Martin and read his past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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