Obama's trip seems too much like a publicity stunt, and he's got "beginner" written all over his face. The press is eager to crown the next King of the United States so they can spend the next 4 years selling scandals and faux outrage, but most Americans just want to get by without losing their homes or jobs. Like Tina Turner sang, "We don't need another hero!!"

This was an excellent strategic move -- force the Dems to speak out of both sides of their mouths, right from the get-go.

Obama's "safe" choice of Biden was a mistake. Congress' approval ratings are abysmal, so you name another congressman as your #2? I think the Dems are terrified -- cue the hyperventilating columnists and chalk up another loss in November.

As a fiscal conservative and social liberal, this makes me more confident that Palin would be sympathetic to people who do not necessarily share her religious or social views.

As with the initial "tokenism" accusations, I think an attack by Dems on Palin with regard to this issue will be ineffective and may backfire. Why do liberals assume Palin shares the most radical fundamentalist beliefs of the extreme right?

It brings to mind those hideous two-dimensional characatures of fundamentalist Christians that were all the rage in Hollywood films a couple decades ago -- where the audience is meant to breathlessly screech "Hypocrites! Hypocrites!" at the screen. If Dems persist in making Palin's daughter's pregnancy an issue, it will be taken by most of the public as an invasion of privacy and more elitist condescension by the Dems.

Ms. Traister appears to be blaming Senator McCain for the reaction of the media to this "scandal" which I predict will not last very long.

Sarah Palin's record as an anti-corruption candidate makes for a great storyline, and is largely the reason McCain chose her (that, coupled with her socially conservative views).

Dems just don't seem to be able to get beyond the fact that Palin may very well make history and yet does not fit the mold of who they think a female candidate should be -- there's got to be some nefarious, evil angle perpetrated by the Republicans. Of course, that only fuels the fire for the Repubs and makes them stronger.

Boy, the Republican party sure knows how to win presidential elections. It's too late for this election, but unless the Democrats get their heads out of the clouds and finally nominate a politician with military experience, who is well acquainted with working class concerns, who understands the nuts and bolts of the infrastructure that makes our country operate, the Republicans will likely keep the White House well into the '20s.

Hillary wouldn't have made any difference to Obama as VP choice, since she, Biden, and Obama are all cast from the same mold. Obama demonstrated his insular perspective by choosing a fellow congressman to be his VP. How this could be considered a "wise" move when Congress enjoys a single-digit approval rating with the American public is beyond me.

...when she predicted the kind of woman who would finally be voted into the White House -- no-nonsense, military background (w/ family members actively serving), familiar with industrial infrastructure, admired by the working class -- all of which seems to be embodied by Sarah Palin.

Time will tell if Ms. Palin lives up to her billing during the debates, which will likely be widely-viewed by many segments of the population -- and not just by the cultural elite. This political season is shaping up to be much more interesting than the snooze-fest I was expecting. It is heartening to see a vigorous political debate.

The Repub/Dem double standard is so transparent -- do you really think Obama's speech was so much more substantive?

The purpose of a party nomination speech is not to lay out a detailed agenda for the presidency -- the purpose is to inspire people to work to get the candidate elected. Personally, I found McCain's speech much more inspiring than Obama's.

Yes, much has been made of McCain's experience as a POW, but you simply cannot help but acknowledge and admire this man for having undergone a true test of courage, regardless of your political orientation.

To call the speech "empty" is absurd. I thought Dems were supposed to be leaving such provocative shenanigans to Ann Coulter and her ilk.

Shut up, Bill Maher.

These columns just keep getting more and more outrageous. This woman must have truly struck a nerve -- she's been on the scene all of 5 minutes and suddenly you columnists know everything there is to know about her, and you proceed to call her every name in the book.

We don't need any more exaggerated opinion pieces, we need some balanced reporting. Ever heard of that, Salon?

Enough with the ridiculous phoney hand-wringing and religion-based smear campaigns against Sarah Palin. Salon has REALLY hit rock bottom with these essays.

Judging from the clip posted on Salon, McCain didn't come off that badly, and the women of the View didn't seem very smart, to be honest. Whoppi obviously hadn't heard the term "strict constructionist" before, and Barbara lapsed into colloquialism when she probably should have sobered up and given a more formal interview.

Come on, Salon, this is getting embarrassing. Are you really looking to the women of the View to fight your battles for you? Why don't you spend a little time doing some real research and writing some real articles for a change.

In times of distress, Americans want daddy -- and I think McCain fits the bill a little better than Obama. But I don't think this debate changed any minds. Whoever, wins, at least we aren't going to have another lightweight president.