I'm not ready to be as pessimistic as you guys, even though it's getting both stupid and ugly. Maybe I'm a fool.

The flip side is that most of this stuff was going to come out anyways: tax returns, nafta, rezko, blacks and whites, men and women. I think Obama needed some toughening up and Hillary needed time to wake up and find out her campaign style. Hillary's supporters are not ready to let it go yet. And it would be better to include MI and FL in the process rather than get hammered about it in the general.

I don't think McCain will be a push over, but he's adopted positions he may not be comfortable with like tax cuts and torture. And there's always Iraq. He's going to have to finesse that one big time. The economy doesn't look good which is real bad for McCain. Either Obama or Hillary will pressure him on the economy, though I'd probably give the edge to Hillary there. Obama also could go after the rule of law and habeaus corpus.

Will the loser's side really stay home? There's a lot of judical appointments, and the SCOTUS on the table for starters. People can be reminded of that.

I just ignore the most outrageous trolls (la-la-la). I think you and I could agree on a list of the most obvious ones. I know it's tempting to respond to them and the mind is weak, but there's really no point. It's better to cut off their air supply and ignore them if you can hack it. I've found that if you show respect, respect is returned (trolls excepted). Granted, we're all trollish now and then. I also try to stick to stuff that can be readily examined here, like asking what are some of Hillary's Foreign Policy accomplishments as First Lady. Doc came up with some stuff I hadn't seen before, so that was cool.

Proving broader points such as sexism and racism, are doomed to failure in this venue. A stack of dissertations probably wouldn't prove much. Even examining the LBJ v. MLK statement is probably too complex, though I find it fascinating

If they support your candidate, they are core. Otherwise....

The campaigns are starting to stir the pot now, and a lot of funky political sediment is starting to float to the top. It's always been there, but now we have to deal with it. Do you think this will blow over, or are the democrats getting ready to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory?

Are the dems toast? I think that's a fair question. Not yet I would say. But I have to admit I've seen some pretty over the top stuff recently from folks I would consider opinionated, but not trolls. It's still six months till November after PA, though PA may not turn out to be the doomsday state.

First, if FL & MI are seated, the delegate count will go above 2025.

Secondly, If Hillary can seat FL & MI as is, and win big in PA she has a shot at winning the popular vote going into the convention. A lot of super delegates will be hesitant to go against the popular vote.

And WES, I admire your dedication to your craft. You are a true artiste.

Maureen,

We spent some considerable time in another thread trying to get a handle on Hillary's impact on the peace process in N. Ireland. I figured you might have some on the ground insight and/or opinions. Care to comment?

I agree with what you are saying, especially with respect to the idiots in charge and the mess that is the election system here.

But if one candidate wins both the popular vote and the delegate count, then the supers better have a really, really good argument for going against that. To say that there will be massive political fallout is only to point out the obvious. If one candidate implodes, gets caught up in some scandal ala Spitzer, then all bets are off and the supers could overturn the voting results with minimal blowback, IMHO.

If one candidate grabs the popular vote, and another the delegate count, then I think we're in for a dustup, with the edge going to the popular vote holder.

Understand that real life may intrude. Thanks for the info. Didn't realize/forgot that Trimble was a unionist. I live near Boston, so there's more interest and/or meddling in the politics of N. Ireland than in other parts of the US.

I don't think many Obama supporters would say that the popular vote doesn't matter. In fact they keep mentioning that Obama leads the popular vote in the assumption that the trend will continue. Most of the dustup seems to be over caucuses v. primaries, and what to do about FL and MI. I personally don't think you can consider FL and MI to be free and fair elections and the dems need to clean this up ASAP. Unfortunately, it looks like the deathmatch between Dean, the DNC and the florida dems continues.

So you're saying that you want to belong in a Party, but you don't want to follow the rules of the Party, and you don't care (lack remorse) how your not following the rules messes it up for everybody else?

I don't see how that makes it easier to change the rules on who goes first.

Given the extent of the Power coverage here, it's relevant to note the lack of Ferraro analysis here and the rest of Salon. Alex are you now deciding to stay above the fray between the two campaigns and focus on the evil doings of Eliot Spitzer and Republican miscreants?