Condi Rice DOES have credibility on foreign affairs and she is a respected figure in America. McCain could do worse. However, she also is very tightly tied to the Bush admin's failed strategy in Iraq. If the war issue is not breaking for the Republicans, she'll be the nail in the coffin, not a winner for McCain.

No, sexism hasn't hurt Hillary. She has done it to herself. If Condi Rice runs for veep, she won't be hit the same way Clinton has been hit. The reason why is simple: Hillary Clinton is a deeply flawed candidate. A person of substantial intelligence and talent who appears to have little personal core. She is an unbelievable character. I would agree though that her status as the "woman wronged" in such a public way has probably hurt her but this is because she chose to stay with (and defend) someone who could help her but hurt her at the same time. I know I've lost a lot of respect for her for that.

Although I agree that Clinton seems to lack a core a values, I still this this reading is a little harsh. The problem with her staff is one that is certainly at odds with her desire to be perceived as a strong. solid leader. The bizarre machinations of her campaign have probably done as much to undermine her candidacy as anything the Obama camp has done.

I have always held a belief that while the war with Iraq was misguided and mishandled, it was our responsibility to leave it in a better condition than before. After reading the testimony Patraeus gave Congress I am fairly convinced that this cannot happen. What is most disturbing is the hard fact that this military approach cannot begin to answer the myriad problems on the ground in Iraq.

On Olbermann last night, I watched Ret. General Odom's extraordinarily bleak assessment of the surge, our role in Iraq and the future of Iraq. If what he alleges is true, then our military presence is actually serving to prolong the real civil war that is going on in Iraq. Our billions of dollars spent each month are simply wasted since they cannot solve the real conflict in this nation between warring factions.

You wrote:

"There are millions of people out there who hate her merely because she is a woman."

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Baloney. I don't buy it. Americans do NOT hate women. They do NOT hate successful women. Many hate HIllary but they are Repubs so what can you do about that? These are the same people who voted for Christie Todd Whitman when she was governor of New Jersey.

The parents and the teens themselves are to blame for this kind of atrocious behavior. These kids don't care about anything except being aggrandized via the web. Clearly their values are already so low that they can't envision that they would appear like little monsters to others who view this crap. The only good is that jail really is a wakeup call for some teens. It's not a whole lot of fun.

As for the parents, their responses lead to me to believe that they are the classic enablers, making excuses where none exist. The truth is that these young people seemed to have little to fear from their families if caught and weren't properly monitored in the first place. Perhaps if the parents looked in the mirror and questioned their own parenting practices instead of blaming technology they wouldn't have to face their children in jail.

Lastly, the sheriff is a fool. Period.

Your post is beyond surprising. Whatever happened to sticks and stones...? Yes, this kind of violence occurs at schools. However, it is not minor or harmless. It is a criminal act and the courts are rightfully involved. They should always be involved IMO.

Perhaps you are under the illusion that beating someone can't lead to serious injury. I would suggest you scan through the Philadelphia news for "sean conroy." This man was attacked by a group of high school boys about 2 weeks ago while waiting for a train right below City Hall, 1:30 in the afternoon. This guy who was minding his business was punched in the head, dropped to the ground and DIED there from an asthma attack induced by blunt force trauma.

You should also know that 4 boys aged 16 to 17 have all been arrested and charged with MURDER. They were denied bail and will be charged as adults. The pathetic part is that they all acknowledge choosing the victim with no other intention than just to hit him. For fun. Now their lives are over.

You're wrong and so was the Clinton camp. Deeply, fundamentally wrong. This woman did not die as implied through a lack of treatment, she died from pre-eclampsia symptoms. I understand that this story was essentially told third-hand but what ever happened to doing a little research, a little checking?

In this case, I totally sympathize with the hospital, clinic and doctors who worked to give the deceased mother prenatal care and then life-saving measures. How absolutely appalling that these folks should become a campaign issue when they have done nothing wrong.

As a side note: Clinton might want to get the FACTS on this story and others like it and then discuss a big medical issue: a critical lack of OB-GYN's in some regions of the U.S. due to medical malpractice insurance and fraud. This poor woman who died obviously had care but perhaps not as much as she have had access to. I wonder if she had some underlying health issue or if the pre-eclampsia just popped up suddenly late in her pregnancy.

You wrote:

"Do a survey of cabbies and policeman who have delivered babies of women without insurance."

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That's illegal FYI. Hospitals cannot turn away a pregnant woman in labor or in deep medical distress. It says so on the waiting room walls in most places. Medical payment does not preclude providing urgent services.