I thought Hillary gave a rousing speech, a genuine summary of her desires for a Democratic White House. I think anything more would have been perceived as insincere by the convention and television audience.

McCain has been chipping away at Obama's credentials with ad after ad. I have seen a few ads from Obama but certainly not the onslaught we've had from McCain. I thought Obama had a huge war chest. Why isn't he using it? Obama must return McCain's volley with more advertising, clever and pointed advertising. If Obama wants to run a strictly positive campaign, he will not be elected...Americans will assume he is too soft for the White House. He needs to point out his rival's reversals on policies, his hypocrisy evident with the big lobbyist face in his campaign, his courting of the oil companies, blah, blah, blah. Also, I believe this convention has been too cerebral. I enjoyed the Montana governor...that's the kind of rabble rousing this convention needs. My assessment: it is too toned down in Denver. Additionally, Obama's acceptance speech in a large arena is going to give McCain another chance to claim that Obama is only a celebrity figure, not a real candidate with political savvy.

I don't think a set design is going to have much impact on the way people view Obama. What is more important is not giving his acceptance speech in the convention hall like every one else in the past. This is what McCain is going to seize on claiming that Obama is simply a cult personality, celebrity, and messianic pretender full of pomp and ceremony signifying nothing.

McCain has been chipping away at Obama's credibility in effective, negative advertising with just the kind of sound bites the Repugs are famous for, and thus far Obama has been letting him get away with it with only positive advertising...what little there is of it. I have seen two or three times as much advertising by McCain as I have by Obama. The Democrats are absolutely going to have to cut McCain down with some negative ads or the public is going to assume that Obama is too soft for the White House. I'm very unhappy that Obama isn't fighting more on the air waves...I want him to win.

These Republicans are incredibly stubborn about their dislike of the Democratic agenda whether it makes sense or not. Pickens should stay in his party to try to influence them, but how can he support them with contributions if they are not going to do what he wants. And why does he not praise the efforts and bold plans of Obama who is all for what Pickens wants to do. Is he stupid? He seems mindless, to say the least, but obviously he has some kind of smarts to get where he has gotten. Pickens reminds me of the American voters who put George Bush in power, twice. Unbelievable gullibility, lack of insight, utter inability to face the truth!!! When will the American people wake up and quit biting the hand that wants to help them, fearing them, and believing they are the devil incarnate.

The lack of stinging rebuke against George Bush and McCain is, I Believe, fully intended because Obama does not want to be seen as negative. That is why Americans are inevitably going to think he is soft...unable to protect the homeland. Negative advertising works...McCain has been chipping away at Obama steadily, day after day, and Obama's poll numbers are down...that's why. It's not the Hillary effect at all because Obama's poll numbers were much higher two months ago after Hillary dropped out. McCain has been slinging his daily mud without a return volley in advertising. Hopefully, it is not too late for Obama to define himself and be seen as a strong campaigner very capable of lobbing his own deadly reply. The Democrats are going to have to step up their advertising and change their strategy.

I think he will pick a woman...he's trying to woo away Hillary supporters who are still angry.

Having been a Clinton supporter, I can't imagine for even one minute that Palin can stand in for Hillary in any way, not even beauty...Hillary was beautiful, too. I am sure Palin's beauty had everything to do with her being selected.

The Republicans don't care about credentials, experience, or any of that kind of thing. They like to pick personality figures like Ronald Reagan or people who already have big name recognition like George Bush. They could care less whether they actually can govern so long as they are against abortion rights and love the NRA, blah, blah, blah. With Palin, they went for beauty and her anti-abortion status. It doesn't matter to them that she is absolutely too inexperienced to be vice president.

When I think about it, I am disgusted that McCain who is so old would pick such a person to lead the country if something happens to him...and it might. At his age anything can happen. Remember, he has already had melanoma.

How infuriating that McCain would pick Palin with her plethora of personal problems to be his running mate. I suspect it was thought through and cynically debated amongst the GOP powers that be and they decided Palin's soap opera would take the emphasis off Bush and put it on the wedge issue, abortion and teenage pregnancy.

McCain's motive is totally selfish and I hope it backfires. I blame him for this circus, not Palin...however, I have to question why she would put her seventeen-year-old daughter through a national nightmare. It is all so banal, so sad, and in some ways completely disgusting.

I agree with Greenwald. The Democratic campaign has been too nice and needs to rev up its intensity. Kerry didn't win because as critics point out, he let the Swift boat attacks go unanswered. Democrats have to fight back or they are going to lose.