"Republicans always say they want to have a values debate but lying and spreading hate were not the values I learned growing up in a small town in North Carolina where the Bible was the most important book in my home. George Bush and Dick Cheney should be appalled by these despicable mailings. They should condemn this practice immediately and tell everyone associated with their campaign to never use tactics like this again. The American people deserve better."

--Sen. John Edwards, on now-confirmed reports that the Republican National Committee recently sent "mass mailings to residents of two states warning that 'liberals' seek to ban the Bible"

UPDATE/RELATED: In today's WaPo, Dana Milbank notes that making reckless accusations appears to be standard operating procedure for the Republican party these days:

Tying Kerry to Terror Tests Rhetorical Limits President Bush and leading Republicans are increasingly charging that Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry and others in his party are giving comfort to terrorists and undermining the war in Iraq -- a line of attack that tests the conventional bounds of political rhetoric.

Appearing in the Rose Garden yesterday with Iraq's interim prime minister, Ayad Allawi, Bush said Kerry's statements about Iraq "can embolden an enemy." After Kerry criticized Allawi's speech to Congress, Vice President Cheney tore into the Democratic nominee, calling him "destructive" to the effort in Iraq and the struggle against terrorism.

It was the latest instance in which prominent Republicans have said that Democrats are helping the enemy or that al Qaeda, Iraqi insurgents and other enemies of the United States are backing Kerry and the Democrats. Such accusations are not new to American politics, but the GOP's line of attack this year has been pervasive and high-level.

ANOTHER UPDATE: With regard to the Milbank piece quoted above, Mathew Gross asks, "Why aren't there any Democrats on the talk shows saying the obvious counterpoint, that George W. Bush is the biggest friend to al Qaeda's recruitment efforts, second only to Osama bin Laden himself?"

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