I'm also left to wonder why it would be that she couldn't communicate with God on her own? Does she have such doubts about who she is and what she's doing that she can't reach out to God without reinforcements?

I wonder if Ms. Palin recognizes that prayer is a two-way communication involving both speaking to God and seeking to sense God's response (i.e. rather than just asking God to give you what you want, seeking to discern what God wants of you).

Or has she domesticated God down to serving as her own private, cosmic concierge?

There's a difference between seriously seeking God in prayer and looking for someone you trust enough to give you a hug (which is what it seems she was really looking for).

Of course the challenge of true prayer is that when you connect with God you're likely to get both a strong sense of love and acceptance and a new set of instructions about what you could and should be doing to help others.

I suppose that wouldn't have fit into Ms. Palin's debate planning, but I guess I'm glad her daughter gave her the hug she needed (can't say for sure about God, though).

Because Ron Paul is very appealing to everyone who hasn't gotten over their 12-year-old attachment to total freedom and anarchy as a solution to having their parents establish curfews for them and demand to be informed where they are, who they're with and what they're doing (all necessary for 12-year-olds).

Sadly, it seems we have a lot of people in this nation still stuck at this stage of maturity who are still 12-year-olds (or even younger), emotionally, and believe anarchy (which is what they want, even though they won't use that term) is the solution to everything!

And after all, isn't that what "free market, laissez-faire" capitalism really is --- economic anarchy managed by people who have all the maturity and judgment of your average 12-year-old? Haven't the last 30 years of Wall Street behavior taken it closer and closer to functioning as if were staffed by the characters in "Lord of the Flies?"

Based on the record of the previous few years, I believe the score for illicit affairs goes to the Repubicans, but then, of course, their's, tending toward male-male illicit sex, don't generally leave evidence for which abortion would be useful. But then again, maybe that's why they're against abortion and birth control. They'll never need either since they only cheat on their wives with other men!

Spoken like a truly excited 12-year-old. I rest my case!

That the "party of ideas" only had one... Use every crisis, every panic, every created fear to enrich the rich and screw the poor and middle class.

The jig is up. We know you don't give a tinker's damn about bin Laden or Al Qaida. We know you only care about yourselves, your rich buddies, and, in the case of a few of you, the hope that you'll STILL be able to get in on the magical mystery tour to unbelievable wealth that you weree promised if the "free market" was cut lose to work that magic (who haven't realized that no one ever intended to fulfill those promises and, if they appeared to do so it was quite by accident, and that all that money wouldn't buy you what you need, anyway - such as a compassionate soul).

You might want to try rubbing a couple of your remaining brain cells together and actually come up with an idea that isn't b.s., smoke-and-mirrors, raid the treasury, screw everybody who's making under $100 million a year, and actually serves some useful purpose for the general public.

Lacking that, bin Laden is not the bogeyman to the general public anymore. The Republican Party has managed quite nicely mind you, to take on that role for themselves (with Rubaugh as the perfect bogeyman in chief).

In that they allow real people to get together, share their opinions, challenge each other and talk about a wide variety of issues beyond just nominating candidates, including passing resolutions which may become part of the state party's platform.

In other words they are participatory democracy in it's most basic form - at least that's the way every one I've attended has functioned here in Minnesota.

I suspect you can identify them by their use of specific endlessly-repeated talking points together with the fact that they are so rabidly opposed to the very idea that the perspectives expressed on Salon exist, let alone that so many of us enjoy reading it, that it's unimaginable that they would choose to read this site voluntarily.

I don't know whether the left has used paid trolls, but it seems as if that's a much more likely tactic of the right (and by the way, Jesus Christ and the original brothers who led the twelve tribes of Israel, especially Judah, are all EXTREMELY offended when slimeballs on the right claim to be allied with them).

DarkHomer's piece, however, is very likely a lame attempt to get people on the right wing sites, who may very well be reading increasing amounts of other right-leaning folks calling some of the offensive idiocy found there into question, to ignore anyone who questions the VERY important and UNDENIABLY brave, patriotic, and intelligent people in charge of those sites.

DarkHomer's just crying out hysterically... "DON'T LISTEN TO THEM! No matter how much better in touch with reality they seem than our shrieking, whining, angry, wailing, keening endless variations on 'POOR US!'"

DON'T LISTEN TO THEM! THEY'RE JUST LEFTWING TROLLS!

DON'T LISTEN TO THEM PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! DON'T LISTEN AND FOR THE SAKE OF ALL THAT'S GOOD AND HOLY (you know, Wall Street, Wealthy CEOs, Big Guns, Warmongering Armageddon-loving gay-hating abortion-hating politicians) DON'T LISTEN!

and whatever you do DON'T THINK about the very reasonable questions they're asking or provable facts they're raising!

DON'T LISTEN! DON'T THINK! They're just EVIL TROLLS!