I realize that to a significant portion of the population a presidential candidate of the Muslim faith may be a concern. However, Obama needs to distance himself from this bigotry if he is to be a true leader of all Americans. He needs to challenge the innuendo that claims that those of the Muslim faith are in any way less patriotic by virtue of their faith alone. This is very similar to the Red Scare tatics of the '50's. As the standardbearer of progressive ideals, Obama needs to stand tall and not take the bait. It is troubling to see and hear these bigoted statements legitimized by allowing them to go unchallenged. As liberals and progressives, we must not let the demagogues lead the discussion to a place that marginalizes an entire group of Americans. We should all be so lucky to have the courage and character of Muhammad Ali!

Having followed the Mets closely here in Fl during Spring Training this year, I noticed that their outstanding record helped obscure a troubling trend.

Many of their victories were late inning come-from-behind affairs.

In more than a few of these games, the key performers were the players not secure in a roster spot.

As a matter of fact, in a foreshadowing of the events of the past months since the season began, the anticipated starting line-up made few, if any, appearances.

While this is not necessarily unusual during ST, the relatively high number of injured veterans should have raised red flags with Management.

The fact that this did not occur speaks volumes of Minaya's responsibility for the current state of affairs.

In my view, Randolph is clearly a scapegoat for Management's failures.

Don't you see? It doesn't matter whether it is true or not. The seed has been planted and will grow and bear fruit.

To those that believe the worst of Obama and his supporters this will validate their prejudices and those with doubts will never drill down to learn the truth.

The MSM will pick this up and run with it and the Obama campaign will have to spend time off-message to refute or repudiate the story.

Time and effort that would be better spent on hammering the divisive slander and coded inflammatory hate speech coming from the McCain side.

Once again, a politician resorts to the "If I offended anyone..." non-apology apology. Please correct the headline to reflect his double-downing on his original racist comment.

If you really want to add an interesting crunch to your salad, do what my mom would do: add fresh, diced red delicious apples and bits of sweet pickles. My mouth is watering at the memory!