"We are one of those people that make over $250,000 a year, and I don't agree that that makes us rich," said Melinda Sacks, who runs her husband's law office in San Clemente, referring to Obama's answer at the forum that put her in the "wealthy" category. "Even with that kind of income, we struggle to pay everything we have gotten ourselves into."

I don't think I would have had the guts to fake a quote that showed a rich person to be that callous.

Mrs. Sacks? If you think that you have problems meeting your bills, imagine how people who make 1/10th your income do!

And no, I don't know why Obama decided to do this gig. Sometimes he seems very bright and sometimes he seems fairly stupid. Doing a fundraiser for Rick Warren?

Stupid.

I've long wondered why the Democratic party has been unwilling to pursue economic messages in the South. The aura of invincibility that the GOP has fostered in the South has never been that deep. Consider that Newt Gingrich himself nearly lost a House race in the late 80s due to a populist backlash after a plant closing.

Saying 'me too' is never a path to winning elections.

How does becoming a POW make a person a 'war hero'? Isn't that like getting an 'F' on a calculus exam and being called a 'math genius'?

Crashing a plane and getting captured - these are not the things we seek from our pilots, are they?

I understand McCain suffered greatly being a POW. But that doesn't make him a 'hero'. If John Kerry can be slimed for winning the Silver Star, then McCain should be ridiculed for being a POW.

My other question is: how is it 'fighting back' to say that John McCain loves his country?

Dems can be so stupid at times. It really is frustrating.

If you want McCain to lose, you might start acting like it. We are several months past the point where Clinton conceded the nomination to Obama. Get over it!

You have your opinion that Obama cannot win. Is that a goal you are pursuing at this point? Because it certainly seems like you want him to lose at this point, to make sure you look smart.

Kindly help or get the f*ck out of the way. Your constant whinging at Salon has gotten tiresome.

it's not about saving energy. It's about avoiding injury.

You haven't seen anybody miss out on advancing because the sprinters aren't stupid.

a) sprinters don't change their stride in the last 10 meters. They just ease up a little bit.

b) it really is less stressful on the muscles

c) the advice to 'run through the finish line' is appropriate if you are trying to run as fast as possible. Given that a pulled muscle could torpedo any Olympic hopes, sprinters are far more concerned about staying healthy for future heats than about getting the optimal time in the preliminary heats.

Mr. Prick gives Democrats control of the Senate, what he does outside of this doesn't matter.

Even when he endorses John McCain and speaks at the Republican National Convention?

It's worth mentioning that a Gallup poll released the very same day has Obama with a 1 point lead.

That is, you would think it would be worth mentioning. Unless you worked for Reuters and wanted to sensationalize things as much as possible. The fact that the Zogby result is an obvious outlier amongst contemporaneous polling should be a part of any responsible coverage of this story.

I would hope Salon commentators would start to learn this fact. I upbraided Joan Walsh on this very point last week. One poll does not a story make.

Are there doctors out there being forced to perform abortions against their will? I'm guessing the answer is no.

My mother is an obstetrician who has been in practice for over 25 years and has never performed an abortion. This raises the question: why is HHS even getting involved in this question?

I don't think 'freedom of conscience' extends to the 'right' to refuse to provide information about a legal procedure. It seems strange that ignorance is the greatest weapon of the so-called 'pro-life' crowd.

Or perhaps it is not strange at all.

Nobody really thought Hillary was a possibility, did they?

Do you think Barack Obama would forget that phrase?

Do you think Michelle Obama would forget that phrase?

That really is hilarious.

Yes, "freedom of speech" = "answering Griff's questions".

I love the shaky cam.

I love the usual list of liberal demons: Cindy Sheehan, Cynthia McKinney, and good old Ward Churchill! Now of course Churchill has far more name recognition on the right than he does on the left, since he has no actual influence.

Half-hearted efforts, even winning ones, aren't charming.

Half-hearted? The guy set the world record!!

Usain Bolt's mid-race chest thumping only violates hero worship if the expected behaviour is something we expect superheroes to do, not regular people.

Mid-race?

If you want to criticize Bolt, could you at least constrain yourself to facts in evidence? The 90-meter mark of a 100-meter dash is in no meaningful way "mid-race". And Bolt was still running extremely fast at the time.

I'm still looking forward to the first time this kind of criticism is directed towards a white athlete.

Did it bother Bob Costas when Lance Armstrong rode the final 50 meters of the Tour de France with his arms in the air in triumph? I'm guessing not.