Your disclaimer appears to indicate your letter was intentionally inflammatory. Without engaging in ad hominem attacks, I'd just suggest you read the article more closely. The experiment asked sexist questions and then gauged responses. Had neutral questions been asked and the same theory emerged, your point would be more well taken. However, nobody is saying that any time a woman gets passed over or rejected it is because of sexism. That claim would be ludicrous.

I understand that there are p.c. opportunists out there who will cry wolf whenever they get a chance because of their own personal weaknesses. And I agree that it's just as dangerous to automatically apply sexist motives to benign decisions adverse to women. But to deny that institutional sexism 1) is real; and 2) has real effects, seems to be just a tad unreasonable. We live in a male-dominated world, and without getting into the anthropology of why that is, I think it's enough to walk away from this article recognizing that it's often the subtle, implicit forms of discrimination that cause the real harm.

Normally there is no reason to reject a true and logical statement. Unfortunately, McCain's POWness is as untouchable as Obama's blackness, and anything that even comes close to touching either will be avoided by the candidates like the plague. It's the unfortunate political climate that is the byproduct of the American public's collective inability to comprehend multiple-layered arguments. Anyone who dares question McCain on anything military related, or Obama on anything race related, will be crucified by an ignorant public fueled by the 24/7 infotainment media machine is in the business of manufacturing controversy. And nothing makes for easily-packaged controversy like a statement that could be taken to tread upon the hallowed grounds of military service (nevermind that a military official that far outranks McCain was making the observation).

I wish Obama didn't have to "reject" true statements, but that's the world we live in thanks to the dumbing down of our country.

On another note, I have to ask you, Joan, how you can equate Wesley Clark, a prominent national figure and someone being talked about as a potential running mate, with John Aravosis, an unknown blogger who has absolutely no connection to the campaign? Was it just the most convenient way to mention Hillary, who otherwise has no logical connection whatsoever to this "story"?

Do the conservatives who say Obama can't speak unless in front of a teleprompter realize how difficult it is to answer random questions knowing that every word you utter will be instantly dissected, spun, and recast out to millions by a 24/7 infotainment media machine hungry for the next controversy it can manufacture?

How exactly can anyone speak from the heart in that situation? I find him refreshingly honest and introspective, even if it's protected by the thin veneer of campaign-speak.

With all the self-righteous indignation and outright rage being expressed in many of these letters, you'd think this was a white-hot national story.

It isn't. Not by a longshot.

Check the front page of all the news sites ... nowhere is it the lead story, and it's barely even mentioned on some.

This matters only to political junkies, particularly the lefty intelligentsia. Yes, it's unfortunate that when most Americans hear FISA, they think of the drug company ... but it's reality, and reality is not changing between now and November.

Obama is not a dumb cookie, and nor is his staff. You think they didn't know they would get this reaction from the Ivory Tower? You think he wasn't fully aware of the consequences of his decision?

Yes, hold his feet to the fire and express your concerns. Tell him why you are enraged. But don't cut off your nose to spite your face by turning on him.

... if some of you would get over yourselves. This is not even close to the constitutional crisis many of you outrage-seekers are trying to make it into. Have you even read the bill? Do you understand what it does and doesn't do?

Yes, keep organizing on mybarackobama.com. Hold him accountable. Make your voices heard. But don't arrogantly and selfishly give up on him now because he didn't do exactly what you wanted him to do. A President McCain is way worse than any FISA vote could ever be.

Please explain how the 4th Amendment has been eroded as a result of this FISA bill.