We are stuck in a disastrous war in Iraq that could very well set the entire Middle East on fire. We are bogged down in Afganistan with no end in sight. Our military is stretched to the breaking point, corrupt and demoralized. Healthcare, basic healthcare is a luxury too many american cannot afford. Corporations have been given a blank check to break the back of the middleclass. The wall between church and state is rapidly crumblimg. Every year we are losing ground with environmental concerns. We have an administration that cares more about its Saudi patrons than finding a viable alternative to oil.

I mean no disrespect, but some maudlin stories about Barack Obama's childhood mean absolutely nothing to me. We all have families and parents and life defining moments from our younger days. So what? He want to be president? give me some ideas and answers to the brutal problems facing this country, not fluff. I have not heard one word of subtance from that man's mouth...not one. And I've found myself disappointed with the majority of positions or "half-positions" he has taken

We need big ideas and someone with the guts to present them and get them done. We don't need charisma. That's what real rock stars are for.

So, in other words he lost BOTH elections and somehow we're stuck with the unimaginable disasters he has unleashed.

"The situation would be much better if the United States had immediately sent our security forces more adequate weapons and equipment," Maliki said. "If they had committed themselves more and with greater speed we would have had a lot fewer deaths among Iraqi civilians and American soldiers."

We've had great luck bestowing weapons and equipment and support in the past. Hmmm, the Sha of Iran, that guy in Iraq (what was his name, again?) and that fellow Osama bin Laden come to mind.

...people were as concerned about that, ahem, Texas Rangers deal.

I certainly hope not. If I wanted to vote for a Republican, I'd vote for a Republican.

...she's Hillary Clinton. I think her reputation (good or bad, depending on who you ask), her name recognition and her place in national politics trumps the gender issue. I have a feeling very few people will consider it voting for a woman when it comes to Clinton.

I'm no expert on intelligence, or national security, or terrorism, but isn't this just something plain old common sence would suggest keeping a close eye on? My hope is that our leaders and experts entrusted to keep us safe would by this point have created an environment where student visas are rigorously checked and rechecked...oh well, maybe when are chemical plants, and ports have been suitably protected, and levey systems in our most vulnerable areas have been butressed they can get a handle on student visas so they won't need to be clued into a "plot." But heck, they're too busy poking around in the mail of American citizens and listening in on phone calls.

Maybe he can reach single didgets by the time he slinks away.

When the next president is inaugurated I hope Bush's only participation is as the clown who sweeps up the spotlight at the end of the circus.

... I truly hope this entire campagne won't be manopoplized by canidates being asked this or that about Barack Obama. I would rather hear their views and ideas on important subjects and matters. Sen. Obama needs to illustrate his readiness and qualifications through his ideas and views.

The question was a no-win situation for Clinton, and I frankly don't care what Sen. Clinton thinks about him.

Bush's speech was suprisingly light on all the god talk, and unless I missed it (my eyes were beginning to glaze over) two perenial stars of his State of the Union speeches were no-shows: abortion and protection of marriage. Did I simply miss them, or did Bush leave them off the guest list? It seems like the Republicans weren't the only ones who took a beating in the November elections. The Radical Christian star doesn't seem to be shining as brightly as it once did. It seems like we very little of them these days. Good riddence.

Overall I was struck by the pandering phoniness. Global warming, the environmet, alternative fuels? Did we see both of his hands while he addressed those issus, or did he have one hand behing his back with his fingers crossed?

He'll leave office and wander off into history as an unqualified disaster and failure of epic proportions. Watching him tap dance last night trying to make himself seem relevant, I couldn't even work up an ounce of pity for him.

And the senators better realize that the American people have political concerns as well. They brought those concerns to the voting booth last November. Another thing the senators should understand, unlike many of them, the President will not be answering to the American people's political concerns in 2008.

...she's starting a pet-sitting business or is looking for bookings as a birthday party clown.

Irony.

It was, after all, "the decider," "the desision maker," who came up with the way forward that got us into this disaster in the first place.

He sounds like a fumbling idiot...which just means he can't really tell the truth: "Cheney told me what to do."