Isn't religion just a theory? Belief must be based on faith, as there is no hard evidence to support the existence of a god.

No, religion is not a theory. A theory is subject to testing, and only remains a viable theory as long as it continues to pass every experimental test.

Religion is the acceptance of authority beyond any testing.

http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/SenatorObama-PleaseVoteAgainstFISA

let's see just how blatantly he can ignore his base.....

Note to Krauthammer: Have you ever met a scientist? "Compliant" is the last word anyone would use to describe them.

I know wherof I speak on this topic...

While in many situations scientists are compliant, when it comes to discussing a scientific issue among themselves, the macho, argumentative, defend my ideas until data proves me wrong grandstanding would put even the most belligerent Republican Pundit to shame.

That's one of the reasons why if there is general scientific consensus on something (such as Global Warming), perhaps you should listen.

(nb. the crucial difference between scientists and Republican Pundits is that the latter continue holding to a position long after the data proves them wrong).

find it kind of cheering that 28% of the public are so uncorraled by what their TV is telling them are "the issues", that they don't agree with any of the standard top five.

especially that the ole debble "Terrorism" was not volunteered... perhaps the most cheering thing I've seen lately.

please, think before you speak, and read what I write

They are listing things in order of what people said. The lowest percentage reported for a single issue was 4%, which means every other issue got less than that.

Which is precisely what I said.

the "this" in this quote

"he [Obama] will generally try to compromise rather than confront. Virtually all Republicans are for this"- souriscriant, are you joking? was referring to the FISA bill. The problem is Republicans vote in a block, which means if you are going to be a Uniter, a heck of alot of caving.

Yes, I got that the pollsters don't care about this issue, which was why I was careful to look for and mention the one open ended question poll, which I reproduce here:

CBS News Poll. May 30-June 3, 2008. N=1,038 adults nationwide. MoE ± 4.

."What do you think is the most important problem facing this country today?" Open-ended

%

Economy/Jobs

34

Gas/Heating oil

16

War in Iraq

15

Health care

4

Other

28

Unsure

3

You need to wake the people up before you can expect the politicians (who, after all, are supposed to be representing the people) care

Some argue that politicians follow polls.... Here is a link to the latest polls about what is most important to the American people:

http://www.pollingreport.com/prioriti.htm

Note that protecting the Constitution and ones individual liberties is not something that is yet asked about. And the only open-ended poll, while some people may have included this as under "other", it is apparently less than 4%

The politicians will care when people care. The media is trying hard to keep a low profile on the 4th amendment rights aspect of this, and to keep the focus on the politically more titillating immunity aspect rather than the more fundamental individual rights issue. The fact that ANY of our politicians are fighting so hard for a virtual "non-issue" is the amazing part.

Glenn, the fight is long and hard, and don't get discouraged. This is the core fight. Getting even a small number of people to wake up and pay attention to such fundamental issues is vital.

Many Democrats support Bush policies because they believe in them. Others don't believe in them but are persuaded that they must support them in order to be re-elected. Still others have no beliefs at all other than their own re-election and do whatever they perceive is most likely to achieve that.

They also sometimes support things the Repugs want in order to get reciprocal support on things THEY want. It's not all about getting re-elected all the time, despite the way the media and many people on this comment section seem to think. In fact, for the VAST majority of them, re-election is pretty much a non-issue (even in these times, the incumbent is almost always a shoe-in if they just go through the motions).

It's horse trading. And they have decided FISA is a bargaining chip rather than a priority.

Also, do not think that your Senator has read what the House passed. Most have not. They are BUSY people, and do not have time to read every single piece of legislation. They rely on their staffers to do that, or they rely on committee members.

Do you really think Obama read the legislation before commenting on it? It's 114 pages and plenty of Constitutional lawyers seem to agree that it is not an easy read. Try to imagine everything that goes into his day. Lobbyists do not buy politicians, they buy ACCESS... a chance to be heard. Look at the daily schedule of the Senate and all the committees etc.

Obama has claimed to be a Uniter, not a Divider. What that says to me is he will generally try to compromise rather than confront. Virtually all Republicans are for this, and a substantial number of Democrats. Think of what that means to a "Uniter"

(note, none of this is to say that his position is defensible and his actions laudable, just that thinking that politicians only think about how something will affect their personal or party's chances in the election is naive in the extreme)