that Obama is addressing these attacks in a forceful and timely way, yet not stooping to the level of the attack.

In this case, and also in the way he addressed McCain's criticism of his "inexperience" by correctly painting McCain as the pro-war candidate who helped drive us into the Iraq disaster.

I don't see that Obama will try and "rise above" these attacks as Kerry and Gore did, thereby allowing the attacks to succeed. He'll confront them directly and the confidence he demonstrates in doing so gives me confidence in his capabilities. The Swift Boat crew won't get a free pass this time around.

Al Gore was right.

Offshore drilling, ANWAR, it's all the same thing.

I mean, why worry about fifty years from now when we could be making money today? If our grandchildren aren't tough enough or smart enough to figure it out, well - screw them!

Storm...meet Teacup.

Slow news day, or what?

Despite what the author defines as McCain's "deep résumé on national security matters" this article highlights how little McCain understands in regard to Iran.

If the leaders of Iran understand that attacking Israel would be a suicidal folly, this demonstrates a level of pragmatism that suggests diplomatic relationships would have a good chance of success.

Before the insane and childish saber rattling leads to truly disastrous results, we must sit and talk with the leaders of Iran. Refusing to engage diplomatically solves nothing. And we would be foolish to assume that the outcome of these talks would not be advantageous, as we've not had formal diplomatic relations with Iran for thirty years.

McCain's viewpoint that diplomacy is "appeasement" and that force is the only way to solve problems, is nothing more than a continuation of the empty-headed cowboy diplomacy of George W. Bush. Shoot first and ask questions later is a terrible foreign policy guideline, as the past years in Iraq have so clearly shown.

We have much to repair in our international relationships, and our perception around the world. John McCain is the last thing America needs at this crucial juncture.

is out in force today!

McCain has a shaky grasp of foreign policy?

Oh yeah!?! Well...um...Obama is a fake! And uh, he's inexperienced, yeah that's it. And he's a secret terrorist, Muslim, Communist, Iranian that'll sell our country out from under us for the benefit of the secret Zionist, Leftist, New World Order. Which, of course, is run by the saucer people.

Just awesome. And exactly the right response.

Please stop feeding the trolls.

It keeps them from getting their diapers changed, which, based on their attitudes in this thread, is something they really need.

There are a lot of trolls posting in the thread.

Something I've noticed a lot lately on Salon...it's like a troll explosion around here. Did someone pour some water on these things?

Wow. All of those adult films out there make it seem 10+ would be"ideal(perfect)" not just "enjoyable".

Does that mean they're just acting?!

;)

by myself and many others. The man was a genius in his craft. He was wildly hilarious and able to give us a unique insight into the craziness of our human condition. He was a master with language and used it to point out our strange jargon, and to illustrate our hypocrisies.

I also consider him a free speech advocate, as do many others. Carlin was a trailblazer, one of the greats, and his influence will be felt for a long, long time to come.

I remember being deeply impressed with Senator Dodd when he took time away from the primary campaign to return to the Senate to speak against the previous version of the FISA bill, and to vote against it.

THIS is the kind of leadership that we need and deserve from our elected officials. We need representatives that will stand up for the rule of law, and for the rights of our citizenry. I hold Dodd's actions in the highest of esteem and only wish that it were the standard rather than the exception, and I must express some disappointment that our nominee hasn't taken a similar action against the dissolution of our liberties.

The majority of this issue boils down to a lack of courtesy. Both in an interpersonal sense and by advertisers and manufacturers.

I live in New York and accept that a level of ambient noise is inevitable. People have to get to work, buses have to run, trucks have to make deliveries.

My pet peeves are the excessive use of cell phones and the violent level of noise in most advertising. Are people so self absorbed that they have to scream to someone over their cell phone every free moment of their lives? Do they really think we all care to hear about what so and so was drinking the other night, or where they're planning to have dinner? I think cell phones can be very convenient and certainly helpful in emergency situations, but the downside is that everyone has to be in constant contact wherever they go. It's not necessary. If you aren't intelligent enough to make a list before you go to the store...

Thankfully a plan to accommodate cell phone reception on the subways was shot down.

And the volume level of advertisements is almost an assault. It's a race to mute the television before the commercials start so I don't get blasted out of my seat. It's a terrible idea to annoy any potential consumers by doubling the volume on your detergent commercial.

Not to mention the constant noise in stores. I'm there to buy something. If I wanted to hear the techno remix of Britney Spears at max volume, I'd go to a club.

seems a bit more negative than the "Most Liberal Senator" label, don't you think?