David Neiwert over at Orcinus nails it:

All of the hand-wringing currently circulating among the pundit class about the rising tide of "Bush hatred" misunderstands the nature of what really is happening. [...] This is not hatred: it is anger - real, righteous and well-grounded anger [...] over [Bush's] war policies, his mishandling of the economy, his pillaging of the environment, his crass cronyism, his multitude of lies, his gross hypocrisy.

It's unfortunate that it took the lightning rod that is George W. Bush, with an uncompromising and radical conservative agenda that has quickly reshaped our country for the worst, to snap many left-leaning people out of a decade of hiding from the playground bully. This growing mass has finally begun to clear the fog, re-remembering that "liberal" is not a 4-letter word, and that voicing progressive ideas in public does not make you a "left-wing radical". We have finally gotten angry enough to stand up and start fighting back.

True to form the right is now crying foul, trying to brand the left's anger as something on par with the pathological venom they themselves have been spewing since the early 90's. They've even taken a page from the fascist playbook and countered criticism of their agenda by questioning the left's patriotism. Shameless. Needless to say, their indignation is being duly blown off.

I think the founding fathers would be proud.