Right, I too would have voted for McCain in 2000. But his honesty, and his positions opposite to what one of the pillars of today's GOP demand of a candidate cost him the nomination back then. So, in the run up to the 2008 election he or his spin doctors decided that he had to cater to the anti-intellectual, anti-science, anti-common sense Republican base and betray his principles. Since the Base still didn't completely trust him, he selected one of their own as his running mate - Palin.

In order to get the nomination and in order to get the vote of the Republican base he had to run an election campaign that is driving independent voters into the Obama camp or causes them to stay home on election day.

If it turns out that way, Obama better deliver in the next two years or there will be a violent backlash. Question is, can he deliver? By all indications, the USA has been riding a wave of prosperity that was based on a house of cards. Consumer spending on everything from entertainment to houses has been financed for a much too long time almost exclusively on credit, on money borrowed from other countries. And of course the federal government did the same for the past eight years. Everybody knows that some day the bill will have to be paid.

Perhaps the day has come.

I have a better idea. She ought to become host for a reality show on TV. Or start a comedy act. What about American Idol?

Let's hear it for Porsche! Hedge funds were probably the biggest contributor to the current financial crisis. For years they added oil to an already overheated fire, driving stock prices up way beyond the true value of the corporation who issued the stocks. In addition they caused the collapse of many corporations that had been providing work for millions. It was easy. Get a controlling interest in the company, vote for excessively high dividends which the company often could pay only by borrowing money. After the company was bled dry they sold it off in pieces, often to foreign investors who only wanted to get a rival out of the way. Not too long ago, the Frankfurter Börse wanted to buy the London Exchange. Two hedge funds who held a controlling interest in Frankfurter stopped the deal and instead voted to distribute the accumulated capital as dividend. Looks like a deliberate attempt to sabotage an action some people don't like.

Treats them right what Porsche did to them.

Khalidi is a highly respected Palestinian scholar who held a professorship at a prestigious American University. Of course he can be expected to be appalled at what Israel is doing in the occupied territories. Does this make him ant-Semitic? Many Israelis are upset about some actions and policies of their government as well. Are they anti-Semitic? Obama had contact with him when both taught at the same University and attended his farewell reception.

Methinks too much is made out of this matter.

Only one of many things Palin doesn't understand. And she would be a heart beat away from being President should McCain get elected.

Is this for real or has Salon been pranked?

But if this is real then it's very sad. She really showed her limits. But it could well back fire. Now the "feel sorry for her" aspect might kick in. That even helped President Bush. His fumbling made him look so vulnerable that people felt sorry for him. That of course is not a good way to feel about the President!

"the sun may be setting on the political influence of fundamentalist churches like New Life." - and not a day too early. The last thing we need in the USA is a Theocracy. These anti-science, anti-intellectual Christian fundamentalists are of the same ilk as their Muslim counterparts.

If I may make another suggestion: Hire Garrison Keillor as your press spokesman!

One sentence bothered me in this article: "...will we cheat ourselves out of the next Obama by cutting it (affirmative action) back?" To imply that Obama got to where he is now because of affirmative action does the man an injustice. The only affirmative action he needed was an equal chance. Doesn't affirmative action mean preferential treatment, lower admission standards and preferential promotions for minorities? That policy has helped some Afro-Americans to rise to positions beyond their qualifications. In the Army some Afro-American generals are dismissed as "affirmative action general." That too is an injustice to many highly qualified generals. Afro-Americans often fail to be competitive because they are the product of broken homes and families, living in an anti-intellectual environment and, because they often live in run-down neighborhoods, inadequate schools. They are not the only ones suffering from these drawbacks. And let's not forget that many Afro-Americans have managed to break out of this vicious cycle. Affirmative action needs to start in Kindergarten for all children who don't get the necessary support at home - regardless of color. I hope that the Obama Administration will make this a priority.

Barrack Obama arrived where he is now because he is everything you said in the article. He didn't need affirmative action, only an opportunity.