CORRECTION RE: BEYOND THE MULTIPLEX: You wrote: "... during those heady days of spring 2003, you may feel the crushing weight of an almost Sophoclean impending doom. That was when that famous statue of Saddam came crashing down, when at least a few Iraqis really did greet American troops with kisses and flowers..."

The famous footage of the Saddam statue coming down was pure propaganda manufactured by the Pentagon Spin Machine. The Iraqis were hired as actors to ACT joyous and liberated. Notice the majority of the footage is shot in close ups. If you see a wide shot there is hardly anyone there. No people running out of their homes, celebrating, no massive crowds a la Liberation of Paris. There is a distinct feel that this is a staged event. For Proof see the award-winning documentary:CONTROL ROOM (2004) and a documentary called WEAPONS OF MASS DECEPTION. It is a fact that Pentagon Media relations has hired several Hollywood producers to advise them on content and dramatic effect re: what the news networks would show.

Now why isn't every bloody one of these liars in jail?

You'll be doing this all over again except with Madmen & the Sopranos. Madmen is brilliant

My first choice was John Edwards. Since he dropped out, I am forced to

choose otherwise. This is a difficult decision because of the following

reasons: I think Obama is a star but does that make him a great

politician? I am not convinced yet. His policies are too broad and he lacks the experience that's needed to fix the sorry state of this country, rebuild our reputation in the world and deal with the black hole called the Middle East. There is no time for a learning curve here. Hillary at least has been more specific re: her policies and has 35 years of experience including 8 years in the White House. In major ways, the Clinton years were some of the most productive for this country in its history. Primarily, turning Reagan's deficit into a massive surplus and giving more needed attention to the poor and middle class. However, what it really boils down to is who can beat John McCain or Mitt Romney----white men. In view of middle America's (more than half the population of the US) racism and religious fanaticism,

who has a better chance of beating a white man?...a white woman or a black man? I think a white woman has a better chance. I believe middle America is more racist than sexist therefore I am voting for Hillary. My only reservation concerning the Clintons is that they are also in bed with the corporations. If we truly want to change this country then the corporations must be significantly reigned in. It is the corporations behind Iraq, behind are dependency on fossil fuels, behind our lack of action re: global warming, behind our crumbling infrastructure, behind unemployment/poverty, behind illegal immigration, behind outsourcing etc etc. If we impose strict limitations on corporate power, this country can once again be called" the greatest nation on earth." I just hope Hillary has the guts and foresight to do this...and choose Edwards as her Attorney General or VP.

RE: OBAMA FEVER EVERYWHERE: I am continually hearing how people are MOVED by Obama. It's wonderful to be moved and inspired but this country is not a Hallmark Card. People are relying on their feelings instead of logic.This is how BushCorp worked. Play on people’s feelings—namely fear. Look what was done—the most effective President since Roosevelt as far as his goals accomplished. Although Obama is offering a much different platform it is this kind of emotionality of the masses that allows leaders to control and manipulate. Obama is a star and a great orator but then again so was Hitler.

AND THIS FABULOUS STATEMENT FROM A FRIEND:

Do we accept Barack Obama as president on the authority of Oprah, the

celebrity talk show host? Expertise not in government but entertainment, she is recognized for her talk show and conglomerate– entertainer, producer, and business woman.

Barack is vying for US president, chief government executive and supreme military commander, with legislative but no recognized executive or military qualifications; he is not running for President and Celebrity-in-Chief of the United States of Entertainment.

Oprah speaks personally–a friend and fundraiser for Obama; three years

known and three million dollars raised.

Oprah encourages us to substitute Barack’s life experience for professional qualifications; character, vision, wisdom, and record as community organizer; IL and US senator suffice. She knows he “is the one,” timely and ordained for America.

But does she divine and apply the same hiring standard to pilots, doctors, lawyers, and teachers; unnecessary are professional qualifications and competence, but likable people with life experience suffices? Working in a soup kitchen, voting on a referendum, supporting the local incumbent–it proves competent the FA-18 fighter pilot, heart surgeon, criminal defense lawyer, and physics professor…the next US president.

But she may reply, “That’s how people are hired in Chicago; it is right for America too!”

Oprah generates a fictitious idealized Utopian savior-president image and identifies it with America; she projects Barack Obama into this image and recommends him as that image; she asks Americans substitute her judgment of Barack’s so-called wisdom for standard professional credentials; she attempts to persuade America to accept her judgment in place of reason.

Common standards used to assess professional competence, especially with respect to the powers and duties of the US president, apply to Barack Obama no less than to any; projecting Barack Obama into a fictitious presidential image and recommending him based on it is sophistry.