George Allen is a boorish wanna-be good ole boy. So what? If the Democrats can't win in Virginia by focusing on the actual issues, of which there are rather a lot of real importance, they don't deserve to win. Dredging up minor crap from 30 freaking years ago just makes the left seem petty and lightweight.

Yes it worked for the lying manipulative Swiftboaters. But if the Democrats ever want to stand for something (like honesty, principles, stuff like that), they need to take the high road. I have to believe that acting like a grown up still has some value in the political arena (though admittedly the last six years have been very trying on my faith in that regard.)

Somehow I bet Barack Obama isn't going to be trumpeting these earth-shattering discoveries by Salon. Take a hint from one of the few Democrats who has crossover appeal and quit sounding like the whiny left.

Americans desperately want to believe that terrorism can be defeated by military might, just like Nazi Germany. Someone has to take the lead and explain that this is a different struggle, and tough guy rhetoric and tactics just aren't going to work.

Perhaps they could start with this week's school shootings as an example of how impossible it is to prevent every "bad thing." There will always be a chance of violence in modern society. September 11 was 19 people out of six billion. No military response can ensure that small numbers of people can't once again cause massive harm.

Bush's "war" has cost billions of dollars, thousands of lives, and dramatically increased the size of the pool where those next 19 people could come from. Americans have to be educated and most Democrats aren't doing it. And Gary is absolutely right, the public senses that the attempt to out-macho the Republicans is hollow.

As I said, Amen Gary. God willing the American people aren't quite as stupid as it often seems.

There are 364 other days a year to protest George's idiotic war. To do so on Memorial Day is politically and ethically wrong. We don't get the day off to whine about current policies, however wrongheaded.

The majority of decent Americans respect the military, with good reason. They sacrifice everything in the service of their country, regardless of the wisdom of what their country has asked of them. It is a mistake to even allow the suggestion that we who oppose the Iraq War don't share that respect. I think that the "left" would gain much more credibility not by protesting on that day, but by joining in the usual Memorial Day ceremonies; joining without fanfare and without rancor.

I saw him play as a kid for the Denver Bears and there's was nothing like spending a few bucks to go to Mile High Stadium and watch one of the fastest players . . . ever.

Makes me nostalgic for minor league baseball -- affordable, laid back, and frankly more fun than Rockies games.

(Or maybe I'm just getting old. Get off my lawn!)

To watch Clinton and Obama take a united stand at the beginning. Made me have some hope for the Democrats.

And I was glad that Kucinich was excluded. If you can't get 2% in New Hampshire on your second try, you need to grow up and accept that it's just not happening. Kind of like Ralph.

Yes, mainstream Democrats have been political cowards. A non-trivial number have sucked at various lobbyists' teats. But after seven years of the Worst President in History, we in the reality based community understand that there is a dramatic and indisputable difference between the Democrats and the Republican cabal that has trashed our country.

And in large part the Democrats are products of a broken political system. But you have to get the thugs out before that begins to change.

I just can't for the life of me understand people who threaten to vote for a Republican (or sit out, a half vote for a Republican) if X or Y gets the nomination. What's more important to you, the future of the nation or your own temper tantrum?

Just as I voted for John Kerry (although I can't really claim I was happy about that one). And the other Clinton supporters I know feel the same. The rancor between the supporters of Clinton and Obama makes no sense to me. The differences between their positions are minuscule in comparison to any Republican (or Joe Lieberman).

And this complaint about tactics? Yes, occasionally one or the other of them does something slightly shady (I guarantee its some overzealous supporter who's behind that vile push-polling), but it's so mild in comparison to what either will face in the general that I can't comprehend why people get their panties in a bunch.

In fact, that's one of the reasons I support Clinton. She's still standing after 16 YEARS of the right wing attack machine, and ready to fight back. Do you think she'll let herself be Swift-Boated like Kerry? Do you think that anything new is really going to stick?

And I fully believe that on a national stage, when it turns out she's NOT a baby-eating monster, the right-wing attack machine will get so shrill and extreme as to provoke a backlash.

I went to the University of Chicago and I have great respect for Barack. He has wonderful presence, he actually ANSWERS the question asked, he clearly has great insight into what it needed to inspire the voters, and I would be ecstatic to have him as a president. I guess in some sense I think he just needs a bit more time to earn it. Hillary didn't run the first chance she got -- she fulfilled her obligation to those who supported her. She paid her dues in upstate New York and convinced those conservatives she was the real deal. I think she'll do the same over the next several months.

But somehow Democrats seem determined to screw it up with this petty bickering. Jesus Christ on a pogo stick.