As much as i’ve hated hearing GOP commentators and Sarah Palin herself talk about the “Real America” that supports McCain/Palin, I don’t personally feel that it’s an expression of racism. Rather, this is a sign of denial on the part of party leaders that they have lost the support of the majority of the American people.

This rationalization for losing is actually a pretty common thing to experience growing up in middle America. Lost the grade-school soccer game to a team that fouled yours a few times? Don’t worry, you were the “real winners.” The characterization of losses as non-”real” is a defensive compensatory mechanism. Subscribing to one party in our political system is often shown to limit your ability to think critically about your own stances.

So, although I think it’s despicable to actually believe that anyone who doesn’t support your own political party is un-(or anti-)American, I don’t honestly think that’s what’s going through the minds of the people giving this explanation for the lack of support for McCain/Palin. It’s just a obvious sign that the faithful holdouts are in denial about the unsustainability of the methods and practices of the modern Republican party.