Ignoring McCain's own pledge, his surrogates are attacking Obama's patriotism and the traditional media is allowing it: What's the plan to fight back?

Must read post from Greg Sargent at Talking Points Memo. McCain -- and the media -- aren't questioning the attacks on Obama's patriotism that McCain himself said weren't going to be part of his campaign. This is either another example of the McCain campaign just ignoring John McCain's wishes -- or McCain has been lying and is directly involved in a nefarious attack. Neither is good:

In what is emerging as a clear pattern, high-profile McCain surrogates have been questioning Barack Obama's patriotism and his roots in American culture, without drawing any objection from the McCain campaign -- even though McCain campaign advisers have explicitly said that attacks on Obama's patriotism are off-limits.

In some cases the McCain campaign itself has endorsed its surrogates attacks, such as yesterday, when Joe Lieberman made the incendiary charge that Obama hasn't always put his country first.

Yet at the same time, the national political press and punditry have largely ignored the glaring disconnect between the words of McCain surrogates and the McCain campaign's professed high-mindedness, declining to point out the contradiction or to hold the McCain campaign accountable for his surrogates' attacks.

This odd media passivity towards McCain on this sensitive topic stands in stark contrast to coverage of the Democratic primary, when objectionable quotes from Obama and Hillary surrogates were met with aggressive coverage that forced the Democratic campaigns to either own or disown their surrogates' comments.

Seriously, read the whole post. Greg documents the attacks on Obama's patriotism by Lieberman, Romney and Giuliani. Then asks the key question: What's Obama's Plan To Fight Back?

The pattern of attacks also raises another question: Does the Obama campaign have an effective plan to counter them, especially given that they're likely to grow into a barrage before long? Democrats we talk to are wondering why more Dem surrogates -- who generally take their marching orders from the Obama campaing -- aren't rising up to hammer back at the McCain attacks.

"Democrats all too often do put up with these attacks," is how John Aravosis of AmericaBlog put it today. "And that's why far too many voters don't think we have what it takes to defend the country. Because we won't even defend ourselves."

The attacks on Obama's patriotism and American-ness, needless to say, are only getting started.

Only getting started. And, while some in the Democratic consulting class adhere to the idea that negative attacks don't work, they do. There needs to be a strategy. I'd say better strategy, but I'd settle for a strategy.