...for your sober explanation to my post. Refreshing to read non-rants anymore these days. And I apologize if I misread a few of your points.

Although I still disagree with your characterization of the Clintons as 'ruthlessly ambitious'. What you suggest the Clintons are trying to achieve with the alleged 'attacks' is mere speculation on your part, since the media went to town deliberately distorting Bill's remarks (as a perfect example, see Tim 'tough-guy-only-in-his-mind' Russert do this sloppy kind of 'journalism' on last Sunday's Meet the Press), taking them out of context, etc, and showing them around. Then they gleefully gathered a couple of knee-jerky negative reactions from prominent people who should have known better, and who should have researched the context of all the remarks on their own before releasing comments to these same media personnel. The wonderful US media then stepped back to enjoy their handiwork, the spectacle of 'he said-she said' rebuttals, which succeeded only in giving them more eyeballs for their so-called coverage of such trivialities - mission accomplished. Meanwhile, nothing of substance was still discussed. At least last night's debate gave us the most substantive of discussions yet.

In truth, Obama had better be ready for anything if he wants to be the nominee, and his supporters and he had better stop crying uncle at every comment they can twist around to sound racist or whatever they think seems offensive to them. Hillary has had to deal with such slime all throughout her years in DC, and she has got to be quite tough to weather such insane and inane accusations without backing down. And for this she gets labelled 'ruthlessly ambitious'.

As for Hillary, it wasn't she who played the sexist card (I don't buy the argument that she staged/scripted the NH diner scene); it was THE MEDIA who made a big deal and a lot of hay out of the so-called 'emotional moment', linking only that single, insignificant incident to the Clinton win in NH in a desperate attempt to explain how they got it so wrong. Not so true in reality, and it was probably more their bullying attacks on Hillary, their premature burying of her campaign, that riled up a lot of voters enough to make them root for Hillary so as to keep the primaries a more exciting and unfinished contest. But all that is old news now.

...when she told him that if she were his wife, she'd put poison in his coffee.

To which Churchill replied, 'Nancy, if I were your husband, I'd drink it.'

...and many other British pols and leaders have no equal in the world of witty, pointed comments today. Wit as an element of public speaking is going the way of the dodo, I'm afraid. (Except for the brave comedian Stephen Colbert and his brilliant satirical speech given just a few feet away from his squirming target just the other year.) Oh, to hear someone bring back such magnificent pugnaciousness to political speech today!

Thanks for the memory, Garrison!

...he also doesn't get this unhinged attacks on Hillary...

Slip of the fingers: should have been, 'he also doesn't get these unhinged attacks on Hillary...

...the enthusiastically pro-Obama Democratic primary and caucus electorate was aware that it wasn't Jesus Christ it was pinning its hopes on, in November.

It wasn't? Really? After reading through all this heavenly praise for Obama-can-do-no-wrong published here and elsewhere, I really thought it WAS Jesus Christ himself that they were supporting. I haven't got much against Obama other than that his speeches put me to sleep, but I do have a lot against his often vicious, thin-skinned supporters.

Oh, and Chris 'Tweety' Matthews is now a reliable source of opinion?

And here's another thing I keep noticing from these so-called 'Democrats' spewing forth bilious invective hereabouts in their completely irrational hatred of anything to do with Hillary:

- Hillary Clinton running for the presidency = ruthlessly ambitious

- Everybody else running for the presidency (Dems only, but I wonder sometimes) = saintly saviour of the country.

Right? Don't you think that anyone running for the highest office in this powerful country has to have some strong force within each of them driving them to participate in this gruelling exercise called the presidential campaign?

As Bill Maher put it so succinctly the other night (he also doesn't get this unhinged attacks on Hillary and says there's nothing to really hate about her), 'if you hate Hillary, it is SO about YOU!' The Rorshach inkblot test, remember?

...about the Englishwoman who married the much-older Sigfried, and find her as fascinating (in both negative and occasionally positive ways) as the Wagners. I can't wait to get to Carr's book next!

By the way, anyone who finds him/herself in the vicinity of Bayreuth should really join the very interesting tour of the unique Festspielhaus. Since I doubt if I'll ever get a ticket to see any Wagnerian opus in Bayreuth even if I wait a half-dozen years to do so (and it's at least a ten-year wait for those in Germany, I'm told), this is the next best thing to getting a feel for the opera house. And no, I'm not really a Wagner fan (his music badly needs editing, methinks) and prefer Richard Strauss.