In my opinion and based on general observations, ethnic and other "bloc voters" seldom vote en masse for a party or a person. They vote according to their general interests as Americans first and other considerations second. Many African-Americans supported Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama initially.

As proof of a fractured Latino vote, look at Cuban-Americans in the Miama area; most are Republican because of their blind hatred of Castro, which the Republican Party has exploited for its own agenda. Other Latinos, mostly Mexican-Americans in California, Arizona and New Mexico, would seem to be more liberal, based on their votes for Democratic candidates over Republican ones in those states.

Finally, one would think that, as a bloc, gay-lesbian voters would all vote Democratic. However, the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay-lesbian group within the Republican Party, are backers of the Republican Party on most issues.

Trying to ascribe an entire group of voters as biased toward one candidate or another, based solely on status, would seem to be an exercise in futility and strains credulity.

If a whiny, cloying, annoying, befuddled and bullshitting performance equates with substance, then Miss Moose-Queen of 1984 won...hoofs down. However, if real substance, empathy, accomplishment, ability and confidence are benchmarks, then Joe Biden was a slam-dunk.

I don't think its elitist to expect our leaders to actually lead...and, to lead us in the right direction, no less. John McCain's first and most important decision was to select Sarah Palin, a virtual nobody, with no real accomplishment and no clear vision for leadership. Barack Obama, otoh, selected a person with true gravitas, intellect and a track-record, thereby showing a propensity to make responsible adult decisions. Obama: game, set, match.

I continue to believe that Sarah Palin is simply Dan Quayle...in drag!

The "race to the bottom" is over: McCain got there first long ago and has never risen above it.

Wow. The differences between Barack Obama and John McCain on the President-O-Meter couldn't have been more evident than at last night's town-hall "debate".

While Barack Obama answered questions on-point and directly, John McCain hedged, hemmed, hawed and vascilated like a schoolboy caught red-handed at some underhanded prank. His smirks, off-putting and sorry attempts at humor and his disparagement of Senator Obama as "that one" was about as bad as it gets. Only Dubya could possibly do worse...although, I don't see how.

No, the race is over for John McCain; Barack Obama was the grownup on-stage last night and was the one who looked, acted and was actually Presidential.

For the Republicans, the turn to the overtly dark side in their advertising against Barack Obama and the Democrats was an all-too-easy one: all it required was a gentle direction change from far right to hard far right. The scurrilous attacks on Democrats in general and Senator Obama specifically are so beyond the pale that only the most mouth-breathing, knuckle-dragging and reddest-of-necks among them continue to be the true believers.

Of the many people in North Carolina with whom I'm friends, even the most conservative among them is either going to vote Democratic this election or is leaning heavily Democratic. For a few of them, the shift is seismic, given their years of blind obeisance to the Republican Party. Most of them not only do not believe the Republican drek-fest, they are ashamed of it.

After all the Republican Party's politics of destruction, distraction and desperation, perhaps a good ol' butt-whuppin' of the nasty right-wing will come about this election; God knows, they've surely earned at least one!

is that there are people who actually buy into the Karl Rove/Steve Schmidt-bastardization of things. There are actually real voters out there who are so stoked on half-truths, bald-faced lies, misinformation and outright lies from Messrs. Rove, Schmidt, et al, that they flail about, mouth afroth, spouting venom and ignorance and who are all too ready to share this "data" about Senator Obama and the "liberal" Democrats with their friends!

I fault both John McCain AND his minions who do the Devil's deeds with such abandon and glee. May they all come to the ends they so justly deserve.

Sad. Pathetic. Like watching a bad traffic accident unfold in a slo-mo video, John McCain imploded completely with but a faint murmur before a national audience last night. However, it was a fitting end to someone so bereft of ideas, character and vision. Ker-plunk!

Barack Obama, otoh, continued to look Presidential, with his cool and unruffled demeanor and thoughtful, in-depth answers. He has the chops to be a President of whom we can all be proud.

Game, set, match to Barack Obama. Now, let's simply give the lovely parting gift to John McCain as he slips quietly and silently onto the trash-heap of failed ideas, vindictive manner and scurrilous commentary.

Sarah Palin gets to go back to Alaska to face the electorate who, suddenly, know a lot more about "Miss Moose Queen" than they did previously. Good luck there, Miss Moose Queen.

John McCain simply proved, in this campaign, that he is a calculating, cold and duplicitous pol instead of a maverick. Had he remained in the 2000Campaign mode, he would probably be competitive in this election. His failure to adhere to principle, embracing expediency instead, showed the true lack of character of the man. Pandering to the basest of the base, i.e. the Religious Right, et al, cost him dearly in the larger context of voters.

Now the battle commences for the heart of the Republican party; as for its soul...it sold that to the merchants of malice named Fallwell, Dobson and Rove.

After eight lo-o-ong years of illegality, arrogance, hubris and general snottiness, the day of reckoning looks to be at hand for the Repooplicans. From John McCain on down, admittedly a very short journey, the casualties could be large and the changes massive.

Plus, as with any full "John", the contents contained therin need to be flushed...stat! Good riddance to the lot of them...McCain, Palin, Bachmann and Dole especially!