Everybody's piling on, just like they did with Obama. "Obama should do this! Obama needs to do that! Here's what Obama should say!" Obama knows what he's doing, though. He's going to ignore all of it, except that from people he trusts and knows well.

But here, I say: keep up the good work, guys. You're just going to continue to confuse her. (Because you know she's reading Salon, along with all the other newspapers in the world.) I have no pity for her--she's a witch and a harpy--but it's clear that she now has an inkling that she's out of her league, and while she's learning to cover that up, it's kind of late now that it's all been broadcast everywhere that she can't name a freaking single Supreme Court decision other than Roe v. Wade.

And sadly, I can't suggest she do what Obama's doing. Because, really, she doesn't have anyone she can trust to give her good advice. Is she to blame for that? Yes, absolutely. If I feel bad for anyone, I feel bad for all the women, everywhere, who are hired not for what they can actually do but because their employers thought they would make them look good, and who have had careers stalled or destroyed when things didn't turn out that way for one reason or another. John McCain is one of them, but like Rebecca Traister, I'm not going to gin up any sisterly sympathy for her -- given all the backstabbing and political intrigue she's engaged in in her life, what she's doing to her own daughter, and that one long lie of a sneering, smirking GOP speech, I'd say karma is a bitch.

Will you guys stop piling on the LW for complaining about the discount clothes and the water bottles? I suspect she's probably identifying these things as tangible symptoms of something bigger, rather than fixating entirely on them, though I'd be irritated by them too.

LW should try to relax about these things a little. I'm not sure where she's living, but I've seen plenty of American tourists dressed exactly this way in Paris--and yes, I wanted to sink through the sidewalk on their behalf and mine. However, I think she's right about the clothes: dressing well while sightseeing, especially in a foreign country, particularly where you might be visiting religious sites (in Italy, Spain, or France, particularly) is a sign of respect, and one can do so both comfortably and relatively cheaply. My husband buys most of his clothes, which consist mostly of khakis and wrinkle-resistant button-down shirts and short-sleeve polos--at Target, usually on sale. By refusing to dress appropriately--dressing instead as if he's about to go out and play--the LW's brother is showing perverse disrespect for another culture and a lack of maturity. Not to mention that by behaving boorishly, he's representing the United States very poorly, and the LW has every right to be embarrassed about this and to feel that he's also showing disrespect for her, as his host. And if he's rude at home, he's probably not behaving very well in public, either.

While I immediately agreed with Cary and others about the possible cause of his behavior--it sounds exactly like the Asperger's people I've known--as someone else has said, it doesn't matter what's wrong with him; you have to deal with him, no matter what. If you can't get him treated, you can at least find ways to cope with him, and maybe the information on dealing with an adult relative with Asperger's would help. But most of all, find a way to support his wife. She's the one who's bearing the full brunt of this difficult person's behavior.

Agreed with those who say that the endorsement would be crucial for independents and moderate Republicans. But I had this discussion yesterday with a co-worker who is both a conservative and a veteran and who is voting Democratic for the first time in his life, and he pointed out to me that Powell's endorsement could have a crucial impact on one other really important group: the armed forces. Not just in winning the election, but *afterwards.* A lot of these guys, he says, are by nature more likely to trust one of their own, no matter how fucked-up he is, than a civilian, especially a liberal former college professor. By endorsing Obama, Powell would be communicating that as commander-in-chief, this guy is O.K. That's important. Of course good soldiers are dedicated to their country's missions, no matter who's in charge, but as far as confidence and morale go--that's another story.

Sarah Palin is so early-October. Can you unclog a drain?

Or have they lifted the embargo?

I don't get the outrage. Really. To tell you the truth, it's the Rose Petal Cottage image of the little girl in a dress and apron and oven mitts that sends a cold chill down my spine, and I *like* to bake and keep house. And the name? You've got to be kidding me.

I'm pretty sure the GOP is going to end up blaming her for bringing McCain down. She's history. No one is going to take her seriously for president, no one. Her against Obama? Yeah, right. I don't think she'll get a second term as Governor. If she doesn't get knocked off in the primaries, the Democrats will make sure she gets her comeuppance in the election.

But it just occurred to me: they could end up putting her on The View. OK, that would be train-wreck TV.