Aside from all this "elitists" v. "cousinhumpers" nonsense, there is a real issue to be discussed here. I'm guesing other letter writers have touched on it, but I don't have time to read through 10 pages worth of posts.

Anyway, the real problem is that it's difficult to convince people--especially those who are predisposed to not like you or trust you--to allow you to help them. When you point out their problems, you're met with a "what the hell do you know?" Furthermore, getting to the core of their problems rips the scabs off of some painful sores about which many people do not wish to be reminded. That's why the GOP strategy in Appalachia has been so successful ... it capitalizes on people's fears and does not do anything to address their real problems.

How are Obama and his supporters, in one election cycle, supposed to reverse generations-deep hatred for "other" people? How do you give a raging tiger a shot of penicillin when it's trying to claw your face off? Unfortunately tranquilizing all of working-class white America does not seem like a plausible solution.

I wish it was as easy as showing empathy, talking, and gently persuading. Maybe I'm wrong ... maybe such tactics will be met with open arms rather than shotguns. But from what I've seen and read, it isn't likely to work. Perhaps Obama needs to steal a page from Jerry Maguire's book and just give a speech where he repeats the refrain "help me help you ... help me help you."

Are you serious?

www.barackobama.com

By posting here you indicate that you're aware of how to use the internets and cybertubes. If you copy and paste the above link into an internet browser and hit "enter" you will be taken to this magical place called a "web site" - on that particular "web site" you can see all sorts information about Obama that you apparently aren't aware exists. It's only a few keystrokes and clicks away.

You can do it! It's easy! It's fun! It's the world wide interweb!

Equating this "gaffe" to Hillary's Tuzla yarn is like equating an obvious typo to a very bad misspelling of a very common word. One is an innocent mistake, the other is indicative of a far bigger problem.

Obama will not be roasted over this because it's true - he just got a detail wrong. Hillary was roasted over Tuzla because the entire thing was a BALD FACED LIE. If Hillary had faced sniper fire in another Bosnian city and mistakenly said it was Tuzla, there would have been ZERO outcry over it.

I know it's a painfully obvious point, but people like KateTex compel it to be made.

The irony that people like you seem to completely miss is that Obama wouldn't have to tell stories about his roots and the patriotism of his ancestors if so many morons weren't automatically suspicious of him because of his name and skin color. I strongly suspect he would vastly prefer to not tell these cheap stories, but he is forced to tell them by the very people who decry him for doing so. It's the exact same Catch-22 he faces with the people like you who are so eager to latch on to whatever negative they can find about him, and if they can't find one, spin one of his positives into a negative.

Her comment was ridiculous. Not because it advocated assassination, but because the examples she cited to justify why she's still in the race do not justify her still being in the race.

Bill Clinton may have "locked up" the nomination in June, but he was the presumptive nominee in March. 0 for 1.

Now for RFK. Hillary seems to be implying that crazy things happen, and that's why she's still in the race. But does anyone think for one damn second that if (heaven forbid) something did happen to Obama after Hillary had suspended her campaign, she would be precluded from re-entering and capturing the nomination? How is the fact that something could happen to the nominee any justification whatsoever for staying in the race? It isn't. 0 for 2.

That's the problem with the comment. It, like 98% of the shit that spews forth from her mouth lately, is a flawed argument for her existence in the race. That's why people are so pissed off ... she's DONE, TOAST, FINITO, and yet she's still out there kneecapping Obama. Utterly classless, totally narcissistic, and designed to bring the party down from the inside.

Quite a spectacular horse you're still backing, Joan.

I can't imagine it would be difficult to add a radio button to filter out all comments by unregistered users. Can Salon please add this feature? I don't think any of us registered, paying users want to wade through dozens of obvious trolls. I don't care if they comment ... I just want to be able to filter them out, a la the editor's choice function.

FANTASTIC point, and perfectly illustrates why any true Democratic Hillary supporter who even thinks about voting for McCain (or even sitting out the election) is a complete fucking idiot.

It bears repeating: liberal women voting for someone--out of spite--who will do everything he can to ensure that Roe v. Wade is overturned is just about the stupidest thing I can possibly imagine.

I see you didn't feel compelled to mention Obama voted against the confirmation of Roberts and Alito. The rest of your post is impossible to decode. And you never addressed why voting for McCain allays any of your other concerns.

Exactly! It's not like if she suspended her campaign and (god forbid) something happened to Obama, she would be precluded from gaining the nomination. The only interpretation of her comment was I'm staying around in case someone clips Obama. There is no other logical explanation for it. None.