Bush is a dolt.

is what McCain seems to benefit from - at least in Farhad's eyes. Sorry, but I think you've set a very low bar for Republican candidates based on Bush but continue to use a more "normal" standard for judging Democrats. Have you been paying attention at all to what McCain has been up to for his entire career? He LOOKS and SOUNDS honest, but he is every inch a politician who has been elected to national office and who wants VERY BADLY to be president. I was a fan of John McCain before his 2000 run, but ever since then, I've made a point to look at what he does and has done. He is not sincere and he does not exude political courage (I try not to mix up the courage of his time as a POW with political courage).

How much political courage does it take for a man who was beaten and perhaps tortured as a POW to speak out against that sort of treatment toward other POW's? He had enormous capital and goodwill on that issue. Many people in this country think that we should treat POW's in accordance with our own purported values, rather than behave as our declared enemies do. A truly honest man would have cleaned the Bush Administration's clock on its torture position because it was - without question - the right thing to do. I would hardly characterize McCain's actions against torture as a clock cleaning.

I do not mourn the "old" John McCain, as I am convinced he never existed except in my dearest political wishes.

Why are people shocked that Gonzales drops hints of other "programs"? He made the same obfuscations in front of the Senate committee earlier this year. His smirks belie his arrogance. The Pres knows best. What is really eerie is to listen to Sadam Hussein's justifications the actions for which he is on trial. Men who view themselves as both omnicient and omnipotent seem to use use very similar thinking to support their actions:

I'm in charge.

I was protecting the nation.

These people threatened you, me, (or my dad).

Such power is vested in me.

I was doing the right thing.

It is pathetic, frightening and discouraging.

may not be as "sanitized" as they have been in the past. But, I believe his audiences are still carefully screened and all efforts are made to assure Bush encounters nothing but respect and deference. So, I don't want to give him more credit than he is due. I at least credit Cheney with marching to (an area near the front of) the mound protected only by kevlar. He did not bring along a military escort to make sure the natives didn't get too restless.

It has been said many times: Why do mainstream broadcasts and print media give this hate-monger face time? I give Lauer a little credit for questioning her. But, she should be made to defend all her inflamatory rhetoric and not allowed to play the victim herself - saying "You're getting testy with me" to Matt as a way to avoid defending the indefensible. She is a vicious hypocrite and should be exposed as such, discredited, and shunned.

I thought it was precious that Ann showed up on "Today" wearing the same outfit in which she was photographed for her book cover. She is such a cartoon.

I have nothing to add except that Lieberman's ungracious, self-serving, divisive "concession" showed him to be a much smaller man than I thought. His invitation to those of us who live outside CT to get involved in the general campaign had, I'm sure, at least one unintended result. There is now a little more money in Ned Lamont's campaign coffers courtesy of this Seattlite.

My guess is Holy Joe will get another sloppy, wet kiss from W at the SOTU this year. His verbal BJ for the president and his Stay the Course + 21,500 "strategy" confirms my judgement about Lieberman and his (lack of) judgement. He continues to nurse despicable delusions. Do Joe's Democratic supporters in CT feel the least bit bamboozled? The rest of us are none too happy that you foisted this SOB on our national discourse for another six years.

For articulating the failure of Congressional Dem's so clearly. They do not even bother to try to build the case and explain to the public why it is their DUTY to check the President when his policy runs counter to the national interest. I lay the blame squarely with the leadership; they are unable to develop a message and keep their number on it. It is disappointing in the extreme. I called Harry Reid, Dick Durbin, Nancy Pelosi, as well as my Senators Cantwell and Murray to express my disgust. I also sent emails to Cantwell and Murray. I called Russ Feingold to tell him to keep fighting the good fight. I am not optimistic. The Dem's may hold only a pair of Jacks in their hand, but they insisting on playing that way. Bush has a fist full of Jokers, but he acts like he has aces. Dems need to learn to wage the war of Conventional Wisdom.

Then how is it, pray tell, that over 58,000 of them wound up with their names etched in black granite in lieu of a long life well-spent?

These right wing jerks love to profess their love and admiration for service of current war-fighters while crapping all over the memory and records of those who served in the past. This dismissal of the service of the Viet Nam generation is the written equivalent of spitting on the returning soldier. How about a nice Kerry-bashing purple heart band-aid? These people are quite literally beneath contempt. They believe honor goes only to those whom they believe share their political values or to those in whose glory they think they can cover themselves.

DRAFT COLLEGE REPUBLICANS - knee problems (I played catcher in baseball) be damned!