And how does one arrive at a clear sense of the goal?

I suggest that intelligence, personal and institutional, does indeed play a roll.

The campaign will soon enter the debating phase and the candidates' will be able to present themselves against a backgound of substance, rather than glitter.

The Republicans have a huge problem to overcome. Eight years of Bush Administration screwups and constitutional abuses are hard to ignore and Palin's smile and pit-bull attacks are not going to be enough to convince voters to elect four more years of Republican rule.

The human mind developed the ability to question, without the patience to find answers.

Religion is the result. Unanswered questions ("why are we here?") posed by people wanting, or needing, quick answers are the anathema of research and reason.

I seriously question the leadership ability of anyone that is deeply religious. I would much prefer someone with questions and doubts but able to honestly research for answers.

The past eight years of government mismanagement are the result of a "firm believer" in the White House.

I'm pretty sure that US gasoline consumption is a major factor in our use of energy.To date, nuclear power has been rejected as a viable alternative to gasoline for use in our vehicles.

I regard Christian fundamentalists as idiots and from that viewpoint I am not surprised at anything the Republicans do.

Eight years of Republican mismanagement and criminal activity says it all. Nothing Robertson does will change that.

McCain, if elected, will not make any difference. The Republican party is the party of Rove and lunatics like Robertson.

Would one learn about automobiles by reading material only supplied by General Motors? Would one get objective data about drugs by reading material supplied only by Pfizer?

Commercial media presents news and opinion driven by viewer ratings and these are used to sell airtime to commercial interests. Often major stories are distilled into headlines with scant background material provided. News presenters are actors, reading scripts edited by people beholden to sponsors and political operatives.

A recent convention speech by Mitt Romney castigated "liberal Washington" despite the fact that Congress, the Executive, and the Supreme Court have been dominated by Republicans and conservatives for most of the past 10 years.

Did the media challenge Mitt's obvious distortions and lies?

She fits the bill exactly. As we learned in 2000 and 2004, the American voter is as dumb as a post.

Palin should do very well, indeed.

We gotta have a car chase. Every Hollywood crime movie has a car chase. And, it has to last at least 20 minutes and it has to have cars driving 110 mph on crowded city sidewalks with pedestrians performing gravity defying moves to get out of the way - and just in time. And, a fruit stand has to be smashed up too.

Whenever a writer or commentator starts accusing "liberals" of something-or-other, that disqualifies the writer as a trusted source of information in my opinion.

I know the story will be nothing more than a cheap hit piece.

The average American voter doesn't want nuance, or intelligence, or a world view.

The average American voter wants simple, one-word answers to everything.

Hence, Bush, Palin, Cheney, Rumsfeld.

That will be the case if McCain/Palin is elected.

The Republican Party will not tolerate more financial regulation. Their approach to the markets is to provide lukewarm participation in market regulation while telling everyone that they are fully capable of managing our economy.

Whatever McCain proposes in order to fix the economy is subject to the approval of his handlers, and they are the same old crowd that brought us war in Iraq and irresponsible deregulation.

Isn't Hannity merely a Republican media whore? Who pays any attention to phoneys like him anyway.

Why do you enjoy killing animals?

We've been fed so many lies, in so many different ways, that we've lost the ability to think critically.

I honestly believe that the political and marketing forces that run this country are fully in charge, and that elections are merely staged plays put on in order to stave off any resistance to their agendas.

that the GOP is a bigger threat to the USA than Saddam, the Taliban, or Osama.

The GOP is attcking our Constitution.

McCain said he'd "fire Cox" and he'd create a "9/11 Commission on the economy" if he was president.

That qualifies McCain for immediate disqualification as presidential material.

"Anti-free market created this mess.

If the free market were actually allowed to work, then mortgage lenders would not have been forced to lend massive amounts of money to unqualified, risky borrowers. It was regulation that caused this, and very typical to blame the free market. Much like blaming conservatism for the failures of socialism. It goes on and on, but in a free market, lenders would have practiced more restraint. This is what happens when everyone "deserves" a home."

Actually, the mortgage lenders were all too happy to make those loans because they were betting on increasing property values as coverage for any defaulted loans.

Here's an idea: Al Gore has nothing to do with global warming. Rather, the discussion should be about climate change. For some, warmer. Others, colder.

Read what the vast majority of scientists are publishing about climate change.

Or, better yet, use your own logic to ask the question if dumping trillions of tons of man-made pollution into our air and water will eventually have consequences.

Nobody knows the true and final cost of the Bailout. I'll wager it will be at least a trillion dollars.

Meanwhile, those who profited from the various schemes, frauds, and financial mismanagement should not be allowed to walk away with what is soon to be taxpayers' money.

The thought of these capitalists embracing socialism instead of paying for their mismanagement is sickening, and a wakeup call for justice to prevail.