When I was a teenager, I read a book by Arnold Foster and Benjamin Epstein denouncing "extremism." They claimed that it is evil to disagree with the mainstream, which is often the regime-stream. No argument is necessary; someone is wrong to be "extreme," period. This is the non-argument smear of right and left, media and politics. But what  dastardly and anti-intellectual baloney. Do you disagree with both ends of the Obama-McCain allowed spectrum? Good for you, you extremist.