I guess that kind of makes sense...

You probably don't want to be seen engaging in a deadly sin (gluttony) if you are the pope, and most of these state dinners are quite lavish affairs.

In the age of media it just presents too easy of an example to highlight the wealth of the elite vs. the suffering of the hungry.

I can see the Pope prefering privat functions to meet with national leaders interested in his counsel rather than ornate coordinated affairs for others benefit.

The fact that Mr. Bush's party successor has been endorsed by a rabid anti-catholic bigot probably has nothing to do with it...but it might be a good thing to remember for Democrats looking to woo Catholic votes.

Just to be clear Pope Benedict (when he was a Cardinal) has been quite clear that the refusal of communion on political grounds is a laughable idea, pointing out that popes in the past have given communion to communist, homosexuals, and pro-choice politicians attending papal events in the past.

The message in both these items is that the the Church is loath to use either it's stature or its sacraments for political theater.

A strange notion to our political theater obsessed American Culture.

The problem isn't criticism it's team loyalty.

I remeber a discussion of the cubs (or perhaps the red sox) from a few years ago, explaining that so long as the fans continue to pack the stadium, the management is unlikely to chainge their policies.

So to in our current situation. If people say, we'll pack the seats regardless of policy so long as we are supporting "our team" you can't expect the team to make the effort to change their policies.

Now, of course since there are only two teams contending people feel obligated to support one or the other team, which leads to their concerns being largely ignored.

If you want change, start supporting the minor leages. Go Greens, Go Libertarians, Go Workers World. Start supporting your actual belifes, and the majors will go back to working for your vote. If you support the peace party in an election then perhaps the Democrats might actually work to bring peace. If you support the personal freedom party, perhaps the republicans might actually work to ensure your personal freedom.

Or, You can keep up the rivalry of the Yankees and the Red Sox, and do what it takes to get your team in the World Series, and ignore all the things they do that anger, and annoy you, just so the other team doesn't win.

However, when the game becomes about the other teams loss more than your own win, you are likely to find that your victories are bitter and fleeting at best.

Sure pick on the Lockhorns, why not, they aren't hip and cool like the Super-Fun-Pak Comix.

Meanwhile, the Lockhorns are in over 500 hundred newspapers nationwide, and have been going strong since 1968 (that's fourty years, an entire generation, of spot on comedy!).

A lot of sourgrapes goes into these strips if you ask me.

I can imagine young Mr. Bolling sitting in his studio saying, "But I'm hip and cool! why is Ms. Hoest so much more successfull and popular than I am! It just ain't fair!".

Well Mr. Bolling, perhaps if you understood the human condition a little better you might have a few more readers.

Oh, but the "Natural Selection of Ideas" was a classic! Clearly the depicting the superior survival skills of communities united by common sociological threads, and how those who seek to distance from themselves from community show themselves to be a darwinian dead end. Kudos!

Obama is correct, Hillary learned the wrong things from the Attack Machine. But Hillary is right in her understanding that the game hasn't changed in 16 years, and the machine will be just as filled with venom for whomever the nominee is.

Here is where electability comes in, for whatever else you say about these controversies, Obama has deflected much of the damage with the skill of dancer, where as Hillary has walked into every broadside heaved at her.

In truth, Obama is teflon, and Hillary is cast iron. She has the strength to take a hit, but it always sticks, and Obama, though lightweight always comes out clean in the end.

Either candidate will get hit on all these issues and more, (and few that people will just make up out of whole cloth, he's a musilm, and she's a man baby!)no matter what. The question isn't just who is going to be able to weather the storm, but who will enter the office with enough skill to rally the country and the congress to their side to get things done.