A presidential candidate must be an extraordinary mix of fire, ice, sensitivity, and presentation. I need to have absolute confidence in their humanity. Their concern and compassion for the average person must be visible. They need to be passionate about the well being of our country, and aggressive about its future. In matters of national security and constitutional integrity they must be resolute. And, they must be an inspiring example of intelligence, integrity, and presidential demeanor that reflects the best that our nation has to offer.


I believe Barack Obama is this man.

Nope. His reading of the bible is accurate. A terrible book to reference if you're trying to prove a point. Slavery IS okay by ALL biblical standards. Women MUST keep their hair covered in the Church. And, a man angry with his brother is AS GUILTY BEFORE GOD as a man who commits MURDER. Read it and weep. The only way it makes RATIONAL sense is if you throw half of it out, and polish up the rest. It's ALL ABOUT FAITH, because interpretation will do you in EVERY TIME. It's the "right-wingers" who are out on the skinny limb this time. They've been making up sh*t for years that serves their self-righteous coffers. Took us to war with it the past seven years.

Give credit where it is due, and assign blame where it belongs. Barack's church may have had a bit of stink to it, but his bible reading is just fine.

Halleluja!

Obama 08!

Can please just dot the i and cross the T !

just practicing in case this nomination process actually ends. Looks like Obama has it by a....delegate? no...popular vote...no....superdelegate lead....maybe. Jeeze louise this has dragged on.

I am not happy.

I believe Hillary should run to the last. She has many good reasons why Superdelegates ought to choose her. No need to list them now. There are very sound reasons to reject Obama. No need to list them now.

It is absolutely true that anything can shape an election at the last minute. All true. All valid.

Bringing up a late campaign assaisination was inappropriate. I'm for Hillary, and I DON'T LIKE IT. She's having a problem with bullets. I hung my head low when I heard it. It was low.

Give credit where it is due, and attach blame to its cause.

In a democratic/capitalist governement there will always be a thousand special interets. One of those will always be the few people with the massive wealth and power. They will always form a party (let's call it republican). Everyone else will fight for their lives to compete against the single minded republican special interst. All the remaining people must stick together or get eaten alive. Independents always get eaten, and they are part of the democrats even if they say they're not. There really are only two sides. Either you're repbublican, or you are not.

Keep thinking it through. No anger, resentment, disapointment, is worth empowering repbublicans. Hillary has fallen behind for two reasons, and two only. She was blindsided (as were we all) by the mass racial voting of the black community. Decades of railing against racisim, and then they have displayed the most massive single case of it in history.

The other reason is that we Hillary supporters did not throw money at her. Obama's supporters gave and gave and gave. They deserve credit for that. Compared to Ob'ers, Clinton supporters were largely apathetic. She may have deserved this nomination, but we as a whole did not open our wallets to show it. Give credit where it is due, and attach cause where it belongs.

Now we need to get the republicans out of office, or they'll open our wallets and take what we didn't give.

I read the recent polls. Hillary looks better head to head against McSame. All good. She is stronger in the heavy swing states that we MUST win to win the general. The supers see this and I trust they’ll do their job. And, if they choose Obama, I will trust that they did their job well, even if I would have done it differently.

What disappoints me is the large number of Hillary supporters that would choose McSame over Obama. I’m as disappointed as anybody in America with Rev. Write, and with blame ridden Michelle. It saddens me that such a bitter person should ever be called the first lady.

But, and, to be sure everyone understands, I would NEVER vote for a republican. No matter how “stand up” the repo candidate may seem, or be. Obama would serve ordinary people’s interests a thousand times better than McSame. Obama’s agenda for the country is GOOD, and McCain is BAD.

If you’re one of those who leans toward McSame, please keep reconsidering the real root of your concerns. Express them here so we can all have a shot at you. (Meant in a sort of humorous way.)

"The democratic party has always been a fragile alliance of various interests, ethnicities and even idealogies, bound together by a mutual commitment to progressive core values."

There are thousands of special intersts of all kinds in our country. The GOP is a machine that only represents the true interests of one of these groups - a few thousand SUPER RICH PEOPLE with all the power and money. They trade off other polarized groups and feign having their values in order to win elections.

Easy example: They feign having right wing Christian values to gain all those voters - and throw the gay vote to the wind. Great trade for votes. Then they hose people with money to buy their way. After they win, they steal every penny back. They rob us of our homes, our healh, and at times our lives. The top republicans play us all like puppets. That they have any concern for anybody but themselves is THE BIG REPUBLICAN LIE. Not a very Christian thing to do, but if you're going to tell a lie, tell a big one.

Since it is nearly impossible to reconcile all the thousands of remaining special interests, the DNC always struggles.

Regardless of all, and any fears I might have about the shortcomings of our final nominee, I will ALWAYS VOTE DEMOCRAT.

Regardless of any, and whatever bitterness arises in the nomination process, I WILL ALWAYS VOTE DEMOCRAT.

Hillary can dodge imaginary bullets, and Obama can have Al Sharpton as his chief of staff. I WILL ALWAYS VOTE DEMOCRAT.

No one will EVER DO US AS MUCH HARM as the republicans have, and will.

"FOR THIS QUALIFYING ROUND...the winner must complete the laps and cross the finish line before the clock runs out.   Read More »

We're not about to embark on some fanciful dreamy new future. We're in a world of hurt and trouble like never before.

Our "Great Country" is now competing with HORDS of super poor, desperate workers in China and other poor, but industrializing countries. We will never have free run of natural resources again.

We're neck deep in a costly war that will be even more costly to end, and absurdly costly to continue.

A hundred mega debacles have come home to roost, and we're mired in each of them. Each has been bought by the next, and now the bill has arrived. The savings and loan debacle, enron, dot-com bust, katrina, and the sub-prime disaster to name only a few.

The world teeters on the verge of wars and distasters on a biblical scale these days. We're fast and predicatably running out of fresh water for millions. Oil grows into fighting words another barrel's worth every day. Iran has a growing "spin" of their own with expressed intentions to elimiate "their" enemies.

We don't need an exciting new inspirational fantasy about how "we can!" We will not "sweet talk" our way out of these troubles. Ask the hard working families that in fact have not found decent work - for years.

We need hard bitten hard work, day after day, relentlessly chasing down the sources and adminstering to the mass casualties. We need someone who has the mettle and desire to do just that level of grueling daily work. That is unquestionably, Hillary Clinton. No one can even pretend to match her dogged determination to fight for the people of this country.

Never give up.

Let's put Hillary in the White House where she belongs!

It was Bill taking shots at her all along!

(just kidding)

I like Bill Clinton, and am just confused about some of his actions. The fairytale thing was no foul on his part (at all), but his contribution of flap has been, well...not the artful Bill Clinton I've always liked.

Nevertheless, the Clintons have served us well, and will continue to do so in the years ahead.

Hillary 08!

I suggest: start asking repos you know what is wrong with the democratic party, their ideals, and their candidates.

Ask them this: What is it you fear will happen if the democrats win the White House? (Try real hard to listen to them. Their worries are valid, even if the republican party won't actually address them.)

Here's more of what I hear from repos personally:
(speaking of the democrats)

- they'll go overboard protecting minority rights while leaving the majority out to dry.
- they'll give away to much money to lazy people unwilling to work for a living.
- they'll let illegal immigrants walk all over us.
- they'll try to socialize medicine and the costs will go through the roof.
- this is a Christian nation, and they'll continue to placate every foreign religion until it becomes illegal to put out christmas lights.

Whether you like, or believe, any of the arguments...
These are some of the issues I've heard on their minds.

It's time our candidates speak to these issues.

In my local straw poll of repbulicans, and McCain fence jumpers, this topic tops the list. I've never heard Hillary or Obama talk about it, yet it festers in the republican mind. FREEDOM OF SPEECH is under attack. The most significant thread of our constitutional fabric is being undermined daily. Many people in this country are more than willing to throw economy, health care, ecuation, and even lives away to preserve it. The republican party stands their ground on it, while we democrats say not one word. It's time to get this issue out front and see what Obama and Hillary intend to do about it. The argument is that you can't say "anything about anybody" without being accused of stepping on someone's racial or religious toes. No one can speak the open truth about anything any more. The Jewish man who sued the airport was one example that has galvenized people on this issue.
(http://www.democrats.org/www.physicsforums.com/archive/index.php/t-147651.html)

The raft of racist accusations like those towards Bill Clinton for calling Obama's war record a fairytale, have rightly infurated believers in free speech.

In their view the new political environement does not allow people to say anything negative about anybody, group, institution, animal or thing without suffering backlash. Having to treat everybody, and all their sensitivities and beliefs at all times equal, with equal air time, is to abandon the very freedom this country was founded on.

Free speach isn't necessarily pretty, nor kind. Here is the crux of the "bleeding heart liberal" argument. We've lost our way as a nation because we're trying to FORCE people to behave as we think they should. That is the very oposite of free speech. The progression here is to start making certain words and phrases and (yes, even ideas, illegal).

I hear people clamor for the "popular vote" to reign supreme because that is the best demonstration of democracy. Yet, that does not square with having to publically honor every religion, every culture, every personal sensitivity.

I for one would like to hear our candidates address this issue. If they can do it well, we may be able to inspire many staunch republicans to come out and vote democratic.

What A Columnist Has To Say About Obama.   Ken Blackwell - Columnist for the New York Sun  It's an amazing time to be alive in America. We're in a year of firsts in this presidential election: the first viable woman candidate; the first viable African-American candidate; and, a candidate who is the first frontrunning freedom fighter over 70. The next president of America will be a first.  We won't truly be in an election of firsts, however, until we judge every candidate by where they stand. We won't arrive where we should be until we no longer talk about skin color or gender.     Now that Barack Obama steps to the front of the Democratic field, we need to stop talking about his race, and start talking about his policies and his politics.    The reality is this: Though the Democrats will not have a nominee until August, unless Hillary Clinton drops out, Mr. Obama is now the frontrunner, and its time America takes a closer and deeper look at him. Some pundits are calling him the next John F. Kennedy. He's not. He's the next George McGovern. And it's time people learned the facts.   Because the truth is that Mr. Obama is the single most liberal senator in the entire U.S. Senate. He is more liberal than Ted Kennedy, Bernie Sanders, or Mrs. Clinton.    Never in my life have I seen a presidential frontrunner whose rhetoric is so far removed from his record. Walter Mondale promised to raise our taxes, and he lost. George McGovern promised military weakness, and he lost. Michael Dukakis promised a liberal domestic agenda, and he lost.   Yet Mr. Obama is promising all those things, and he's not behind in the polls. Why? Because the press has dealt with him as if he were in a beauty pageant.    Read More »

I must have heard the media rant about negative Bill a hundred times. That is no exageration. Ten or twelve times a day for two weeks.

Nary a word about proud Michelle. She put herself in the back....hmm. I wonder if she's proud of her husband anymore? We never see her with him on the stage now. Is she retired too?

And, the unbiased media? Not a word! PASS.

Here's what I have to say for the MEDIA. To quote one of their victims, "you're all a bunch of hoes."

I will support Obama if he wins, but I will not support double standards anywhere, especially from the media. On this matter I think Chelsea has it right. They've shown themselves to be more parasite than tape worms.

People ask, where is all the anger coming from in this election? The answer is the media. It is they who take what a few bad apples say and run it to death, squeezing every penny out of it for their own sake.

Nary a single Obama supporter will switch to Clinton, and visa versa. The spitting and blaming and character assissinations WILL NOT IMPACT the nomination.

The real work right now is not to convince anybody of anything. It is to listen to those who are disturbed by Obama, or Clinton, to vote for McSame. We need to listen. Underneath their stoic claims of disgust for the "other" nominee, there are valid concerns. Concerns we may be able to shed good light on. We need to start finding out just what it is that is the center of their worries. I know it's hard work, and we'd all rather cheer on our own favorite canditate.

I like McSame as much as the next guy. He's clear, unequivocal, uncomplicated. But, he represents interests that are runious for regular people who comprise the overwhelming majority of this country.

We need to unseat the REPUBLICAN MACHINE. It is a parasite.

If you're one of those democrats who really believes this country will be better served by McSame (if your candidate doesn't win) then I'd like to hear from you. We need to get your concerns voiced in a rational manner.

Obama supporters urge Hillary to quit. They are impatient. They want to move the finish line to remove that small chance they still might not win. They claim she is damaging the party and is the cause of bitterness.

This is nothing more than a ploy.

The election process is underway. There are states that have not yet voted. The magic number of delegates that must be reached (2,025)has not been reached. That number will not be reached by either nominee. There is a process for settling the race in that event; the superdelegates will come together and vote.

The cry that the process is too bitter IS A PLOY. If Obama and supporters feel that the race is too bitter, and are absolutely sure they have already won, then....why not tone it down? Why not sing songs of victory and relax? There would be no bitterness. Let Hillary shoot herself in the foot with imaginary bullets. Then we can all float into the convention with love in our hearts.

There is an answer to, "why not?"

Because Obama has not won this election yet.

There is fear in the Obama camp that for some reason he just might not win. And, the reason is that Hillary is a strong competitor even when the odds are stacked against her. It is one of the very qualities that makes so many of us believe she is the one to lead this country.

Let's saddle up and finish the race by the rules. That way our properly elected nominee can be honestly supported by all.

"The democratic party has always been a fragile alliance of various interests, ethnicities and even idealogies, bound together by a mutual commitment to progressive core values."

There are thousands of special intersts of all kinds in our country. The GOP is a machine that only represents the true interests of one of these groups - a few thousand SUPER RICH PEOPLE with all the power and money. They trade off other polarized groups and feign having their values in order to win elections.

Easy example: They feign having right wing Christian values to gain all those voters - and throw the gay vote to the wind. Great trade for votes. Then they hose people with money to buy their way. After they win, they steal every penny back. They rob us of our homes, our healh, and at times our lives. The top republicans play us all like puppets. That they have any concern for anybody but themselves is THE BIG REPUBLICAN LIE. Not a very Christian thing to do, but if you're going to tell a lie, tell a big one.

Since it is nearly impossible to reconcile all the thousands of remaining special interests, the DNC always struggles.

Regardless of all, and any fears I might have about the shortcomings of our final nominee, I will ALWAYS VOTE DEMOCRAT.

Regardless of any, and whatever bitterness arises in the nomination process, I WILL ALWAYS VOTE DEMOCRAT.

Hillary can dodge imaginary bullets, and Obama can have Al Sharpton as his chief of staff. I WILL ALWAYS VOTE DEMOCRAT.

No one will EVER DO US AS MUCH HARM as the republicans have, and will.