is such a lonely word, especially when it comes to lawyers.

Good God, the same Harold Ickes who was so bitter about today's more than fair compromise was one of the party honchos who voted to give Florida and Michigan the death penalty originally. Has the man not an honest, consistent bone in his body that being a lawyer hasn't hollowed out?

This country so desperately needs an honest person at the head of it after 8 years of a con man. Hillary Clinton just isn't that person. She's far too pliable in the direction of short-term self-interest, every time. Her position that Michigan should have been seated as is, only months after she publically defended not taking her name off the ballot with the reasoning that it wouldn't count anyway, was so deeply, obviously shameless and unfair.

...and now all this fake outrage from her camp: the threats, the hint of sabotage at the convention. It's too much for any person of integrity to take.

I know some people take the Clintons' refusal to play fair as some sort of political virtue: toughness, cojones... All it amounts to is dishonesty, shamelessness, power madness. This country deserves better.

for:

1) your wounded feelings

2) the simple fact that he had the boldness to beat Clinton

3) his maleness

4) his relative inexperience

5) the rules of the Democratic party, which predated his arrival on the scene

6) his most vitriolic supporters (especially those on the internet)

7) the reality of sexism in the U.S. and the handful of sexist dunderheads in the media

8) the fact that politics is harsher and less forgiving than most of us would like it to be

9) the Clintons' missteps, including, yes, their occasional tone-deaf racial rhetoric

If your hurt feelings are more important to you than the future of the country, you are profoundly selfish. Ask all the self-righteous twerps who voted for Nader in 2000 how that worked out for all of us.

I don't want to insult you, really, I just want you to come to your senses.

Please, please, please, think of the Supreme Court, think of the young people still dying in Iraq, think of the growing gap between the rich and poor. There's so much at stake after 8 years of Bush. Please remember the larger picture. And please forgive Obama for whatever you imagine are his unforgivable sins.

Obama is not some jerk tossing insults on an internet message board -- he's an extremely gifted politician who is a profound symbol of hope and progress to millions of Americans. Yes, Hillary is too. But Obama is the Democratic nominee. It's time to get behind him if you care even a whit about Democratic ideals. If you don't, and politics is just some cult of personality to you, you need to grow up, soon.

Morford uses a New Age vocabulary to describe what seems apparent to many of us -- Barack Obama brings a lot of wisdom and grace to the political scene.

People, your cynicism and lack of rhetorical sympathy don't elevate you or express your intelligence, just the opposite.

OK, I admit, the sweeping rhetoric about a "new way of being on the planet" is a little over-the-top to describe a politician, but Morford does say "help" -- which keeps it from being as messianic in tone as many of the letter writers seem to think it is.

the best so far on the great inscrutable diva and icon, Hillary Clinton. Is she a cold-hearted, power-mad cynic or a liberal saint? Traister wisely just celebrates her as a wonderful character.

I'm beginning to think she may be the most magnetic figure in the whole country. As wonderful and groundbreaking a story as Barack Obama is, Clinton still seems to be the one drawing the majority of the fascination.

Many right and left-wingers treat her like a witch, shunning, condemning, always assuming the worst, unconsciously giving her too much psychic power. Meanwhile, her supporters remain incredibly fervent and trusting, unreasonably so.

I find her the most irritating and (at least superficially) phoney human being on the planet (clap-clap-point-point), yet I can't look away either, and often I can't help being in awe.

if Jesse Ventura is the exemplar of possessing the populist touch.

Yeah, Ventura talks tough and blunt, with an edge of anger -- and I suppose that connects with plenty of regular Joes. But his rhetoric about "chickenhawks," though powerful, is too simplistic. Do we really want to disqualify any president who hasn't served in the military from leading the country into war? Or pressure his poor kids, who may not be military types? We should be careful about applying demagogic attacks on political enemies that can just as easily be aimed back at us.

Obama is a rare creature: a thoughtful intellectual and a charismatic, inspiring show-horse at the same time. I can't think of anybody in history who was both of these and a blunt populist at the same time. 2 out of 3 ain't bad. It may not even be possible to remain thoughtful while boiling all the nuance out of your language. I don't know about you, but I'm ready for a thoughtful president for a change.

The biggest dust-up over absolutely nothing since the Hillary/RFK thing, which was also totally ripped out of any fair context. General Clark was simply responding to Bob Schieffer's odd insinuation that being shot down in a plane somehow distinguishes McCain over Obama as a presidential candidate. Perhaps Clark may have seemed slightly insensitive, but any note of contempt in his answer was aimed at Schieffer's question, not at McCain's service.

This ultra-sensitivity about phrases and words, especially after they've been ripped out of context, dumbs down our politics.