In the main, I agree with groland's "principled" ( Monday, November 17, 2008 07:07).

A few questions:

1) Which member of the following pairs is a more ethical and principled human being?

a) GW Bush b) William Ayers

b) Dick Cheney b) William Ayers

c) Condoleezza Rice b) William Ayers

d) zoltan newberry b) William Ayers

2) From whom would you prefer to buy a second-hand car?

a) GW Bush b) William Ayers

b) Dick Cheney b) William Ayers

c) Condoleezza Rice b) William Ayers

d) zoltan newberry b) William Ayers

3) If you had to follow someone into danger, which member of the following pairs would you choose?

a) GW Bush b) William Ayers

b) Dick Cheney b) William Ayers

c) Condoleezza Rice b) William Ayers

d) zoltan newberry b) William Ayers

4) If you wanted to give a loan of $ 100 to someone, which member of the following pairs would you prefer?

a) GW Bush b) William Ayers

b) Dick Cheney b) William Ayers

c) Condoleezza Rice b) William Ayers

d) zoltan newberry b) William Ayers

5) If you wanted to give a loan of $ 1,000,000 (or $100,000,000) to someone, which member of the following pairs would you prefer?

a) GW Bush b) William Ayers

b) Dick Cheney b) William Ayers

c) Condoleezza Rice b) William Ayers

d) zoltan newberry b) William Ayers

(In fact, I would not trust zoltan newberry or his friends and masters, with $0.10. Sorry about that, but that's the way it is, seeing their performance over time).

-- GSC

It would be extremely foolish, in my opinion, to put any special focus on 'hunting Osama' amongst the host of what Obama's real pursuits should be:

-- getting the US out of Iraq without that nation collapsing into anarchy worse than today's;

-- getting the US out of Afghanistan without that nation collapsing into anarchy worse than today's;

-- weaning Pakistan from being an origin of terrorist activities;

-- launching a real war on terrorism (with the support of the moderate Muslim community around the world);

-- global warming; resource and energy depletion; pollution; overpopulation of the globe by humans;

-- poor educational systems (in the USA; worldwide);

-- developing international financial structures to enable healthy trade between nations;

-- effectively structuring and empowering the United Nations; the World Bank; the IMF; the WTO - a host of such international organizations;

-- honestly working to resolve the Arab-Israeli issues (never has been done in decades);

-- talking to Syria, Iran, N. Korea

-- a real, effective nuclear weapons ban on the world: "we will NEVER use nuclear weapons ever again!";

-- .... (etc, etc, etc)

(I've not prioritised any of the above).

There are a whole host of other things as well that are more important today than expending huge resources in directly hunting Osama: the best way to deal with Osama is what it always was: enlist the moderate Muslim community to fight 'Islamic terror'; enlist people of good sense worldwide to fight terror of all stripes. We all do need to educate ourselves and each other that the 'terror route' is absolutely the wrong way to go to get our social and other grievances redressed. This refers to governments as well as to disaffected individuals and groups.

It would be profoundly disappointing if Obama were to "do a Bush act" and strike out as he suggested on a hunt to "to kill Osama".

-- GSC

... but I do find it silly in the extreme. Salon loses at least 40% of the respect I had for it on account of this little bit of less-than-frippery.

I can only presume the writer could find no other way of getting the attention of Salon editors - and the editors somehow had managed to totally turn off their critical faculties when they accepted this rubbish for publication. Writer and Editors: Please do let us know something about your thought processes when you put this 'article' together. That exercise at least may provide some useful insights to us readers. (At this point, I've not read all the input from the readers, where you may have done this already: I'm not from the USA, and I've not yet thought through about any racism that may well be implicit in this endeavour of yours).

-- GSC

Thank you for that very useful information about Erin Aubry Kaplan. I for one shall be reading all of that with great interest to try and discover what makes this 'lady' tick.

GSC

In your response to catamite_bastard and someone else, you wrote:

I have loved Erin Aubry Kaplan's writing since before I joined Salon, and I'm proud of this piece. If having a black president and first lady is going to narrow what we talk about, wow, that would be sad. But I promise it won't -- at least not on Salon.

-- Joan Walsh

Thanks for that 'explanation'. However, it does not adequately explain the state of mind and motives of the writer who wrote that bit of silly nonsense or the editors who commissioned/approved it for publication.

Do tell!

-- GSC

P.S.: I remember I once saw a man with a penis fully 15" long - in Washington DC, no less! In a relaxed condition, not fully extended!! No, I did not measure it, but I have a pretty good eye for sizes and so forth - and there were friends of mine with me who confirmed what I had seen! Within shouting distance of the White House!! I could write something very funny and 'touching' and sad and momentous about that encounter that might make you even more proud!! Commission me!!! Please!!!!

-- GSC