While the asshat proudly continues along, showing all the world that the very possibility of reproduction on his part is, simply, a physical impossibility.

Natural selection at work, in the best way.

Better trolls, please.

I won't bother to speculate on what they look like, (too nauseating) nor what music they listen to, if any.

They're certainly not trying to get by on personality.

AI..

I think it's the latter,

But why does it matter?

They've only one brain,

And the same old refrain.

Boring us all with their chatter.

Freepers, phone home.

Some brilliant and illuminating explanations to look forward to in the not-too-distant future.

"The war in Iraq was started in 2003 after the 911 attacks."

"The budget deficits exploded after the 911 attacks."

"Iran emerged as the dominant regional power after Saddam Hussein was removed from power."

"Suspected terrorists were tortured in secret prisons around the world."

"Guantanamo Bay was opened to house terrorism suspects after the 911 attacks."

"New Orleans began its downward spiral after Hurricane Katrina."

"A Texas lawyer was accidentally shot in the face during a quail hunt."

I think it's both valid and important that the similarity of the religious appeals, and the relative difference in the way that they are received, be pointed out and discussed. Lord knows we're all accused of double standards, usually by righties who know nothing else, when it comes to their own heroes.

But in this case those commenters who highlight the dramatically different climates in which the respective candidates must operate. Huckabee's religious appeals are about as necessary as the Pope explaining he's Catholic. On some level, they show that he thinks his followers are so dumb that he has to beat them over the head. No one ever accused him, or any Republican, of being not all but fanatical about his religion.

Obama, on the other hand, is a Democrat, which in SC is tantamount to being a Wiccan. He has a much higher hurdle in this regard. Politically, he knows his followers are a little less dogmatic, and will tolerate some pandering in the bible belt, and so made a politically astute mood.

Do I like it? Not Much. But there's lots of things I don't like about American politics today.

PS.... Anonxmous, I bet that beckoning you felt has been gone for several pages... thanks for the laugh.

Cynicalp... The quote you are looking for is, "When truth goes out the door, rumor comes innuendo," ---Groucho Marx

Where is Bebop? I was slicing peppers yesterday, and wiped my nose, which caused me to remember his homey wisdom on this subject, and reminded me it could have been worse. Watch what you wish for though, WT, you never know what he'll be waving on the porch....

Although I share your skepticism, and even disdain, for the religious, William, unfortunately they are the only ones who can ever be elected in these United States. In a world of my choosing, anyone who professed a religious belief of any kind would be instantly laughed off the stage in the manner of one who believes in Unicorns, the tooth fairy, or that Lindsay Graham is heterosexual.

The American people have their virtues, but an ability to grasp the obvious is not among them. It will be a long time before people can accept nonbelievers as leaders, simply because it would force them to acknowledge, once and for all, that the successful really are different; i.e., smarter, than they.

Ironically, this puts me in the awkward place of hoping that the candidate I support is, uh, lying, because I think that anyone who is sincerely a believer is just too gullible to run a tab, let alone a country. The good news is that it makes the inevitable subsequent lies, if not pleasant, at least unsurprising.

With expectations thus lowered to a reasonable level, I'd prefer they lie to bible thumpers and tell me some semblance of the truth, rather than the other way around.

The utter collapse of any public expectation that this president, or any president, would be anything more than an elected dictator, accountable to no one, is a fine example of another Bush triumph. If one sees success purely through its own goals, this administration is more successful than any of its predecessors.

"If this were a dictatorship, it would be a lot easier," said Bush, and set about making it so. He now has more power to detain, torture, intimidate, and spy on citizens than any nominally elected potentate, and few avowed dictators would feel hampered in his role.

"We intend to leave this office in better shape than we found it," said Cheney, and so it is. Aided by a purged and cowed justice department, and encouraged by its minions on the federal courts, the administration can positively glory in its inerrancy; each successful defiance of longstanding law and practice just makes the next one easier.

"We are history's actors...we create our own reality," gloated Karl Rove, waxing philosophical about the new world they were creating, and here it is. No longer does the public expect anything from its government than lies and threats; truth is now a matter of opinion, and the supposed "fourth estate" has joined its weak, emasculated brethren, singing the praises of Our Leader.

To those of us who treasure democracy, or dare to wish for a better future for our children, the Bush years have been a painful, shattering disaster.

But I imagine they don't see it that way.