Greenwald seems to me to be reflecting the attitude of many left-wing progressives, but I think it much more appropriate to remember that the voters in these congressional districts knew they were voting in conservative Democrats, liked it that way, and probably wouldn't go for a liberal if one had been offered.

Instead of brandishing our pitchforks in the name of intellectual purity in the party, why don't we consider that those voters who elected the Blue Dogs may have intended for the Democrats to work with Republicans on issues that can gain cross-aisle consensus?

And an even bigger issue: we've been crying for years that Reagan took the middle of the electorate from us and his successors wouldn't give it back... now Bush has disgusted those folks so much that they're giving us a shot... and we bemoan their influence?!

Embrace them! Embrace the Schweitzers and Jon Testers and Heath Schulers and the like! They make us look like what a party in power should be; representative of a broader spectrum of American thought, and a "bigger tent" than the more narrow-minded regional Republicans.

We won't regain power until we stop our incessant calls for purity of thought.

Who you pick as your VP nominee is the first major "Presidential" decision a contender for the office has to make.

By picking Joe Biden, Obama passed that first test. It takes self-awareness to acknowledge your weaknesses and seek to address them. It says a lot about Obama that he picked someone who could help him do that. This is the best team the party has had since Clinton-Gore.

Hillary nailed it. She was superb.

But I disagree when you say that the election was stolen from her. For every Hillary or Obama partisan, there were many of us who looked at both (and Edwards et al) and made a decision based on who we liked best. Hell, I wanted Biden.

Hillary made a go of it, but she lost. It's been a few months, and tonight she showed that she has gotten over it. She's ready to have personal ambition and a deep emotional need to see a woman in the White House deferred in order to support the principles that girded her candidacy and her sense of self. She made that very clear tonight.

She said it best, KateTex. "Did you do this for me?" She understands that it's more than just her now. And she by no means is saying that by supporting the nominee, she is being a good little girl who 'knows her place.' She was quite clear; the dream is alive, and she intends to see its fruition. But that can't happen with John McCain in the White House.

KateTex, I don't know your political affiliation. You may well be a centrist who identified with Hillary on a deep personal level. In that case, maybe a vote for McCain would just be a return to your ideological roots, consistent with your beliefs.

But if you truly and wholeheartedly support what Hillary believes in, and want your children and their children to be better off, then please come on over here with all the Edwards people, the Biden people, the Richardson people and yes, even the Kucinich people, who understand what's at stake. Don't worry, when the Obamabots start braying, we'll tell them to watch their mouths.

But don't leave the tent and walk out in the rain just because you don't like the song the band is playing. Stick around, help us out.

Sincerely,

Diomedes

Hill said it. Bill said it. They meant it.

When you have a candidate that even gets Kerry motivated, that's saying something.

Everyone who isn't crazy about Obama; you don't need to be. It's more than the candidate, it's the people who come into office with it. Joe Biden is an exemplary public servant, and was my first choice during the primaries. I'm sure a President Obama would bring in more decent, conscientious public servants to help him.

Stalwart, savvy leadership versus another administration with its head in the sand. The party is united, there's no choice anymore. Let's do it.

... is the art of turning the opponent's advantage against him. He's bigger than you? Turn his weight against him and slam him to the ground. He's considered better than you on foreign policy? Point out how the Iraq war he's so enamored of has stripped the American Army of the initiative against the terrorists and robbed us of opportunities to take down Al Qaeda home base in the Hindu Kush.

It's not rocket science, people. I'm just glad the Dems are starting to figure it out.

By nominating Palin, he finally dropped the pretense of being a maverick. Listening to her speak, I instantly felt she was channeling Dubya. Not just in her neolithic stance on the issues, but in her barely suppressed contempt for the left and her churlishness.

So McCain has a decision to make. Can he energize the base with Palin while wooing the mushy middle this year? Or is borrowing a page from Rove, rallying the base into a frothy rage and ramming home the 51% victory going to be feasible this year?

It's not 2004 anymore, John. Just sayin'.