I am a native born Wisconsonian--graduate of the University of Wisconsin--raised on the prosperous north shore of Milwaukee. This is an accurate portrayal of people who live there. Wisconsin is unpredictable for candidates, because people there seem to have a built in "bullshit detector," which operates very well when racism and sexism are not part of the equation! And so, I complement Barack Obama for not trying to be part of the culture--because he really is not. Good luck Hillary Clinton and John McCain--neither of you is either, no matter how hard you try to act "as if" you are! If I know my home state, most--across class lines--will see the authenticity of Barack Obama and give him a solid vote! Of course, McCain will get the vote of the rich, and mostly ignorant, upper class! Hillary will get lower middle class women to whom she has always appealed. So what is new here??????

GO OBAMA!!!!

Yes, Obama does have class; Hillary has Mark Penn. Never the twain shall meet--so to speak!!

This morning's op-ed piece by Mayor Bloomberg sure did sound like an endorsement for Obama! He is looking for non-partisan unity? That is precisely what Obama is talking about. Perhaps he is trolling early for a Cabinet job. And why not? Secretary of Commerce, perhaps? But let's not get carried away about the idea of a VP nomination. He does not have the requisite foreign policy experience--like, for instance, Anthony Zinni!

Like Governor Strickland, I am a psychologist. I wonder what his problem is that he does not understand the positive "gut" feeling that people have about Barack Obama? And the negative "gut" feeling about Hillary Clinton--probably based on her Iraq War vote! Perhaps he is one of those "cut off at the neck" psychologists who never really understood what their clients were talking about, or where they were coming from. Good thing, maybe, that he retired from psychology and has become an out-of-touch governor!

Dear Howard-

You need to get a life--and a better haircut! You look old, tired and depressed. Get over yourself!

I think the good doctor has missed the mark on his commentary! The main point here is that Heath Ledger was an ADDICT! What that means is that he was addicted to at least one--possibly several substances, likely alcohol, cocaine and heroin (as I have read elsewhere). He was trying to go "cold turkey," in getting off of these drugs, having refused to go to treatment. So he was self-medicating with a boatload of prescription drugs,(probably obtained from several doctors, who for sure were enablers). It is well known that addicts have a very high tolerance for such substances. So, who knows, how many pills he took, and what mixture? The point is--only an addict would do this! The doctor failed to make this clear. Most of us would NEVER take such a cocktail--much the less have on hand the plethora of drugs Mr. Ledger ingested!

Kate Madison

Addictions Specialist

I think the quotes by the two Republican generals best sum up the issue here:

"I studied leadership for a long time during 32 years in the military," said retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Scott Gration, a one-time Republican who is supporting Obama. "It is all about character. Who can motivate willing followers? Who has the vision? Who can inspire people?" Gration asked. "I have tremendous respect for John McCain, but I would not follow him."

"One of the things the senior military would like to see when they go visit the president is a kind of consistency, a kind of reliability," explained retired Gen. Merrill McPeak, a former Republican, former chief of staff of the Air Force and former fighter pilot who flew 285 combat missions. McPeak said his perception is that Obama is "not that up when he is up and not that down when he is down. He is kind of a steady Eddie. This is a very important feature," McPeak said. On the other hand, he said, "McCain has got a reputation for being a little volatile." McPeak is campaigning for Obama.

So.......this boils down to an issue of character and temperament! Both McCain and Clinton are quick to anger and instinctively bellicose. Obama is slow to anger and sees the importance of a rational reaction. In a word, he possesses the emotional maturity the other two candidates do not!

Kate Madison, LCSW

I have felt sad and discouraged by Hillary Clinton's wins in Texas, Rhode Island and Ohio, and it tells me that "dropping the fear bomb," (as Michelle Obama calls it) works! How sad that the predominant American culture is so emotionally reactive and unable to think critically that they respond positively to such a primitive and irrational emotional appeal.

Perhaps we do not deserve to have an enlightened and thoughtful candidate like Barack Obama. He refuses to get into the emotional gutter--and may therefore lose the nomination.

The RollingStone endorsement of Obama this morning says it all for me:

"There is a sense of dignity, even majesty, about him, and underneath that ease lies a resolute discipline," Jann S. Werner writes. "It's not just that he is eloquent -- with that ability to speak both to you and to speak for you -- it's that he has a quality of thinking and intellectual and emotional honesty that is extraordinary."

Maybe too extraordinary!!!

Kate Madison

Depoe Bay, OR