In an era of 10%+ unemployment, advising someone to quit their job and "find something closer to home" is beyond moronic. Where are they supposed to find it? On the job tree growing in their back yard? Be serious.

And if someone has that long a commute, chances are it's because there is nowhere to live that is remotely affordable anywhere near the office. If LW does indeed live in Massachusetts and is commuting into Boston as some have surmised, I can assure you that is the case, so the suggestion to "move closer to work" is just as moronic.

LW, you're just going to have to suck it up and deal with the commute. But stop being a terrified victim. There are lots of places that offer driver training, including classes in defensive driving. It sounds to me like you could use a confidence boost - go sign up for a class.

You've made a stronger argument for the public option than either the White House or Congress. And you've even supplied some helpful empirical evidence to support your case.

Bravo!

to shield yourself from being ogled by men, you're oppressed - whether you know it or not.

If it makes you feel any better, you probably couldn't have walked away even if you had wanted to - not without losing all the money you'd put down (in some cases up to 20% of the purchase price) and risking a lawsuit by the seller to boot.

Even if you've written a mortgage contingency clause into your purchase contract, it's likely it would have either a) expired by the time you got to the closing table; or b) not covered the "I didn't get the loan I signed up for" scenario you've described. And, yeah, you could probably sue the mortgage company, but in the meantime you're out your deposit, out your home, and facing a heap of legal fees.

The ugly truth is, by the time you get to the closing table the mortgage company has you over a barrel and can do whatever the hell it wants to. People can snarl and point their fingers at the "dumb buyers" all they want, but when you're faced with a situation like that, moving forward with the closing is often the *smartest* thing you can do.

A full eleven pages before the inevitable Asperger's diagnosis showed up.

But I hope for their sake you never have kids with him, because they will be absolute messes.

Everyone seems to want to jump on the bandwagon to condemn this guy for being a "playa," but cheeky1 has it right.

They went out a few times, had fun, and even though he appears to like her he's not willing to become exclusive just yet. This is normal behavior, whether someone has been single for a few days, a few weeks, a few months, or a few years.

What is *not* normal is demanding an instantaneous commitment on the strength of one or two enjoyable evenings together. That's not only unreasonable, it's delusional.

90% of the dating "problems" people seem to complain about have less to do with tricky male-female dynamics than they do with simple etiquette and ordinary common sense.

Yeah, the guy is a clod for emailing you both at the same time, albeit (probably) a well-meaning clod. You need to ask yourself if you really want to be with someone that clueless about a matter of basic politeness (I mean...DUH...)

That said, I think it's VERY unreasonable of you to expect instant exclusivity in a relationship with someone you can only see once a month ("at most"). Come on! The guy is newly single and trying to put himself back together emotionally. It's not fair to expect him to sit around and wait for you to have time to see him, particularly since you don't seem to be especially willing, or able, to go out of your way to give anything more.

Either accept that he's going to see other people and ask him to keep that side of his life private until you and he decide whatever it is you have together is worth pursuing (which means you're going to have to step up and figure out a way to make it work on your end), or find someone closer to home. Right now you're trying to have it both ways, which means you're being quite the clod yourself.

"Unmarried material"? WTF??

Seriously. Can someone really be THIS stupid?

On second thought, don't answer that.

did something very similar with McCain, playing on his age. After the town hall debate, when he inadvertently stepped in front of the camera, TDS did a bit where he roamed around the stage, the picture of senility, looking for his lost dog, "Mr. Puddles."

Just sayin'.

They are going to be absolutely savaged by the opposition, just as Graham Frost's family was in 2004. People who think we were too hard on Joe the Plumber have no idea what's coming.

There was that...and then there was the reference to Obama's running mate as "Joe the Biden."

For God's sake, McCain - act your age and take a freakin' nap once in a while!

McPalin have signaled they intend to use the John Lewis remarks as an excuse to reintroduce the Reverend Wright controversy. How much sleazier will they look if they do so while he's off the trail at sick sick grandmother's bedside, unable to respond personally? For that matter, any personal attacks on Obama will come off as even more opportunistic and craven than they already are.

His surrogates, who will still be out there, will have a field day.