...for most of the evening, giving little structure to his thoughts. They sounded a lot more like of his campaign speeches than clarification of his policies. He did not 'hold his own', in my view - if he did so, just barely did he do that. And then, with very few exceptions, all he did through the 90+ minutes was to tack on a few additional small details to whatever specifics Hillary had already said. (Why did he choose to speak second, pray tell?)

Ms Walsh, methinks thou art capitulating to the O camp, and if you are, can't blame you, given the 24/7 anti-Clinton/negative on Clinton news and stories saturating the media.

That is all.

For an interesting fictional character study of someone who fears doubt in his life - at least outwardly - I would suggest the fascinating novel The Conformist by Alberto Moravia (also made into a fine film by Bertolucci), about Marcello Clerici, who lives an unoriginal life according to the dictates of his repressive surroundings. He becomes a fanatical Fascist in Mussolini's Italy. He doesn't even realise how deeply that Fascist state of mind penetrates into his soul, which leads to some tragic consequences.

Yes, feeling doubt is uncomfortable, and thus we have religion (opiate of the masses, as someone once said), and the extreme expressions of belief in the certainty of something or someone as the True and the Best - be it a creed, or a person placed on a pedestal who we think will do everything right, no matter how impossible it seems, and without needing much effort on our part, with little rationality going into the adoption of such thinking. Also explains why people become very, very upset when their basic beliefs are questioned rationally by others - seems that the very reason for their own existence feels threatened when this happens.

Personally, I tend to use the word 'believe' than 'know' when presenting opinions, and also realise that doing this sounds like a weaker argument to many. Which probably explains why a lot of people insist on the certainty of their knowledge (witness the current wars in the election primaries). But I also know (ahem, believe?) that no one on this good earth is infallible. Not even the Pope!

Lack sleep? Pop a yellow pill. Chronic pain? Pop a red pill. Reflux symptoms? Pop a purple pill. Erectile dysfunction? Pop a lavender pill. Don't bother (don't have time, mostly, thanks to the whole crazy system) to discuss the situation, find out the real root of the problem, give alternative non-pill therapies.

And Big Pharma is loving it - especially those TV ads that tell viewers to 'ask your doctor' about that shiny, new, perfect drug next time. Doctors have become legal drug dealers for the pharmaceutical industry. No wonder so many sick people are even sicker - some of them are on ten different drugs at least, one for every damned symptom they complain about.

Read ex-editor of New England Journal of Medicine Marcia Angell's book, The Truth About the Drug Companies to find out how we got to this awful place where we are now.

Click on my signature line for a summary written by Dr. Angell for the New York Review of Books.

No one has come up with a satisfactory answer yet (for me) as to why is it anybody else's damn business, anyway? Why write this completely superfluous essay on something that should be nobody's business but the couple's? Even if you say it's different from Hillary standing next to Bill during that should've-been'nobody'else's-business affair, it is the same.

So, why are you all so unhealthily obsessed with the dynamics of their relationship? Worry about your own relationships in private, please.

Clueless (deliberately so? or no?) Joan, Hillary gave a shout-out to Riverdaughter (HRC blogger at The Confluence) when she mentioned, 'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pantsuit', and what do you think she meant when she kept repeating, 'When you hear the dogs barking, KEEP GOING! When you see the torches, KEEP GOING!...' Whom did you think this was addressed to? What was the significance of her beautiful orange/gold pantsuit? Why did she not mention at all how 'ready' or 'fit' Obama would be for the presidency? But she nicely enumerated and explained her own campaign platform proposals once again to her audience?

Hee, hee, and do you think it was a mere coincidence that James Carville was wearing a nice pair of PUMA sneakers today, too?

LOL! Hillary is one smart, brilliant, compassionate woman, and the underlying messages in her grand speech tonight are lost only on the non-PUMAs. She gave a most presidential speech while giving a nod to Obama as nominee. Let's see if and how Obama tops the finest speech of the season yet.