I wondered when someone was going to go back into Rush and Pat's pasts to retrieve their racist remarks. Why anyone would listen to these guys is beyond me. They lack complete credibility.

Regarding Buchanan's remarks about DC: I once listened to a professor here in Virginia talk about the good old days of segregation. Then, we ended up on a committee together to decide whether the first black professor in our department would be hired. It's amazing that we still have to deal with this in these modern times.

As a childless married woman past the age of childbearing, I was hurt by this article. I suppose I don't care about the children of the world because I never had children--that's wrong. I care a lot more than many mothers I know.

Thank you Joan for a reminder of how far the Democratic Party has come since this time last year. I never thought Hillary would have been able to swallow her pride and support Obama as she has done. And she helped Obama a great deal by getting all of his skeletons out of the closet before he faced McCain.

Michelle Obama has emerged as an outstanding first lady. I am so impressed with her ability to lead by example with the organic garden, healthy living, support for military families, and community service.

Regarding the Republican Party, I am amazed at its unraveling. Most of my staunch Republican friends call themselves independents now. Of course, things can change in a heartbeat if progress on the economy is not made. But I have the upmost confidence in Obama to do so.

This film is a remix of Planet Earth--I recognized some of the clips from the trailers. The film should come with a disclaimer. Don't waste your money.

The Daily Show consistently skewers hypocrites in the media and politics. The CNBC network was ripe for criticism with its go-go-go, invest whatever the costs, mentality. That is what led us into this mess. 3 cheers for Jon Stewart!

I agree with the last comment. Salon needs a copy editor!

It's so good to hear a president who is articulate. However, I agree with you that he takes too long to answer questions. That's better than gaffes or embarrassing remarks but a primetime news conference needed to be more entertaining for viewers to watch. Obama will keep getting better at this job though. Hopefully, he will have 8 years to do it.

I hope you are feeling better and glad you were able to watch the concert on TV. It was great. I agree with you about the media. They do not focus on the important issues sometimes.

Thanks for the note about the dance Joan. After being glued to the TV all day, I had to watch a movie so missed the coverage on the balls. If I had had a choice, I would have been at the Home States Ball--what an interesting mix of people.

Unfortunately, Dr. Chu was very political in his response, espousing Obama's misguided belief that clean coal technologies can solve coal's inherent problems. Coal mining is destroying a significant proportion of the Appalachian mountains. By destroying, I mean taking a mountain down 1000 feet or more by blasting.

Carbon sequestration is far too expensive to be feasible. My hope is that Obama follows through on carbon cap and trade so that coal is no longer subsidized by the health of the Appalachian communities. Renewable energies will finally be able to compete.

Hellboy II was the most boring movie I have seen all year so I am surprised it would be on your list. The best action movie was Iron Man followed closely by Dark Knight.

Some of the others you mentioned did not make it to my rural part of Virginia so I will check them out on DVD.

1. What will Obama's popular vote margin be? 5 percentage points

2. How many Electoral College votes will Obama win? 311

3. How many seats will the Democrats gain in the House? 23

4. How many seats will the Democrats gain (net) in the Senate? 9

5. Pa.-12: Jack Murtha (D)

6. Minn.-6: Elwyn Tinklenberg (D)

7. Ga. Sen: Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R)

8. Minn. Sen: Norm Coleman (R)

9. N.C. Sen. -- Kay Hagan (D)

What time (EST) will the presidential race be called? 11:08 p.m.

This is a great article (and headline) about two unfortunate events for McCain. I agree that Palin didn't need the snazzy new wardrobe to be beautiful--she would have looked great in a Penny's suit. But, it says something about her political instincts that she didn't recognize that a $75,000 shopping spree at Nieman-Marcus would not be a political problem.

And, it says a whole lot about McCain and his staffers that they were not suspicious of Todd's story immediately. Plenty of bloggers were!

One thing I have noticed about everything I have read about Palin is that she is able to cover her tracks well. Just when the Democrats thought they really had her on this lie, she admits to it and goes on--controversy over. She is slick.

I just read Palin's record on the environment on the Defenders of Wildlife though. I would support their organization in trying to publicize it--it would open voters' eyes for sure.

McCain doesn't know how many houses he has---that's a clear signal that he's out of touch (and the campaign as well who should have seen that question coming) This ad isn't a response to that. Obama's father left his mom and him when he was a toddler to go back to his wives in Africa. Obama does not need to support his half siblings there. I suppose Democrats could come back with how Cindy has almost disowned her half-sister who received nothing out of her father's will and receives nothing from Cindy to this day. Hopefully, the Democrats won't stoop to that--we need to get back to the issues please.