Any one and I mean anyone on youtube could have come up with better. More importantly, is it really effective strategy to point out how popular your rival is? That's just inviting mean-spirited comparisons which will surely come on late night TV, to much derision and laughter...at McCain. Can you imagine what the rebuttal ads will be like, and I mean the ones that will NOT come from Obama? It'll be a bloodletting of yellowed-teeth, sun spots, creaky waves, poorly phrased statements and, of course, the dead silence following the birth control question.

Why does the GOP fight this battle that it just can't win?

Bush is an intellectual lightweight. We all know this. Perhaps some people were expecting insight into the serious economic crisis hitting Americans. It can't happen. Bush hasn't the capacity. So what we are stuck with is inane and silly observations that would be funny if the situation weren't so sad. God I can't wait for this guy to leave the WH (and Obama walk in.)

Have Juan Cole and apparently several others on this board forgotten HOW we were attacked on 9/11? The Taliban specifically harbored Bin laden and Al-Qaeda and allowed their plans to take shape from the safe haven of Afghanistan. We drove out the Taliban, the correct and appropriate military and strategic step to take. Then we oddly veered off into Iraq on trumped up evidence.

Obama is right. We need to return our focus to the nation where our real conflict resides, Afghanistan. We will not be trying to occupy Afghanistan as the Soviets did (a stupid analogy) but we will be supporting a government that has significant support from the population. Afghanistan needs massive aid to support rebuilding of infrastructure. It needs support to build a professional police force and, of course, to develop a sustainable economy. All of these opportunities have been squandered by our focus on Iraq, a country that did not attack us and certainly posed no threat to the U.S.

France allows someone to move to and live within its borders for a decade and produce 4 undisputably French children. Then, it takes issue with the individual's religious practices. It's almost like the government is trying to prove something. Logical thinking however is not one of the possible choices.

France has the right to impose rules on who can become a citizen. That's perfectly fair. However, I hope that these rules don't merely serve to forward a political agenda. French citizenship rules should ideally reflect the values and spirit of the French constitution.

That much should be obvious by now. He's just making stuff up and when he's called on it, he gets belligerent and accuses his opponents of being unsupportive of the troops. Sound like anyone else we know?

Obama's background may set him apart from his colleagues on Capitol Hill, but it's far closer to the average american's experience than McCain's.

LOL! Good one...

We aren't and weren't in a war with Iraq. We invaded a sovereign nation on false pretenses, one that hadn't attacked us and have occupied it for several years. The freely elected government wants us to leave soon. I'd say leaving was long overdue.

In case you missed it, there is an elected government in Iraq and it reflects majority will in that nation. We should not be in the business of trying to run another country. It won't work. Let the Iraqis sort their mess out. I'm sure the result will be problematic since these groups have been warring for many centuries but it must happen. The United States can best aid Iraq by giving incentives to leaders for a diplomatic resolution to conflicts rather than assassinations and road bombs.

You're completely correct. "Ethnic cleansing" has a way of reducing attacks as well.

Still don't get it , do you? The complaints about Maliki are so much drivel. This is the leader of the Iraqi government, a freely and democratically elected government for Iraq. It's frankly not our place to decide who might be better for them (or for us just so we aren't kidding ourselves here). If the Iraqis don't like him, they'll vote him out. You got problems with democracy now?

As for Iraqi critiques of Obama, again, so what? Are we really supposed to predicate our foreign policy on what citizens of foreign nations perceive to be in their best interest? If they want to change the system, again, do so democratically. The structure is in place.

This just sounds like a bunch of whiners and grifters trying to horn in on the American cashcow in Iraq (AKA The Average Taxpayer). Sorry, I'd rather spend my dollars at home or chasing after Bin laden, wherever he may be. I don't owe the Sunni partisans of Iraq a damn thing.

Obama could never walk away with this election despite the GOP brand sitting in the toilet somewhere. In case you haven't noticed, Koppleman, he's a black guy who is 1) self-made 2) educated at an elite university and 3) liberal. This is red flag stuff to the GOP. They have been hammering away at him being radical, socialist anti-gun, anti-white...you name it.

Unfortunately, too many white voters in those battleground states are gullible. They actually buy the stuff that the GOP is selling. I think it's amazing that Obama is able to peel away so many. As the election nears, however, many will begin looking long and hard at their economic situation, reflect on McCain/Gramm economic commentary and end up voting for Obama.

I read the full length document on Obama's website. It hit just the right note. He focused on bridging the divide between Europe and the United States instead of partisan issues. I liked also that he included torture as a challenge to overcome, a veiled hit at the Bush White House.

Obama's a wonderful communicator of ideas. What a breath of fresh air from Bush and McCain.

About 200, 000. A very large crowd.