Because I haven't met them. I am a hard-core, liberal Democrat in the Eastern U.S., living in a liberal area, and surrounded by liberal friends and neighbors, and in contact with liberal friends around the country.

Could someone please tell me who these people are that are so quick to say they will vote for Hillary Clinton?

Because

I HAVE NOT MET ONE YET...

Seriously...no one I know has anything but utter distaste for Hillary Clinton.

• Hillary Clinton is not an inspiring speaker.
• Hillary Clinton is not an inspiring leader.
• Hillary Clinton is not warm, personable, or even slightly charismatic.
• Hillary Clinton has no vision of the present or the future.
• Hillary Clinton panders shamelessly.
• Hillary Clinton is divisive.
• Hillary Clinton is so despised by the right that she could mobilize major opposition.
• Hillary Clinton SUPPORTED the war.
• Hillary Clinton comes laden with years of political baggage.
• Hillary Clinton is a carpetbagger in the state where she was elected.

WHAT, besides the fact that she is now part of some sort of ersatz Clinton family political power dynasty, is the selling point here?????

Frankly, every single person I've talked to has said that if she is the nominee, they will vote for her only because she's the Democrat, and even then, that vote will be cast while holding their nose.

I include myself in that group. I will NEVER vote for her in a primary, and only in a national election as a vote AGAINST the republican candidate.

I am an Obama supporter, and Edwards would be my second choice. But Hillary? She's TOXIC!

Who are all these mysterious people who love Hillary and think that she's a great candidate, a great leader, and would be a great president??? So, please, speak up, fellow Salon readers. Are any of you Hillary fans? If so, can you explain your rationale, because I'm mystified as to why Lib Dems would support her.

I really don't believe you're really out there. I can only imagine that the Clinton spin factory is already in business, and this Hillary lead is being manufactured out of thin -- no, make that NOT -- air.

Writer Anne Lamott's already been there, and done that as far as this issue is concerned.

She has an excellent description of K-FUCKED radio, the radio station in the head of nearly every writer...that 24 hour a day radio station in our heads that tells us that every word we write is drivel, and we're terrible at writing, and so on...

And she tells you how to turn it off.

So while you're buying the other book, get a copy of Lamott's book "Bird By Bird" ASAP.

BTW, it's well done, and written before she went all born-again balmy...

10. Poor child would be neglected, because "Mom" would be too busy with her head up Bush's butt

9. Might decide to follow Baker Commission report and "engage with Iran" by sending Ahmedinejad to the "naughty mat"

8. We would have to suffer through a 3-part series by the Washington Post's Robin Givhan on "Condoleezza's Pregnancy Power Wardrobe"

7. Who would want to go to a baby shower hosted by Ann Coulter?

6. Condoleezza in "Mom" jeans

5. Poor child would have to wear hand-me-downs from Mary Cheney's kid

4. Postpartum depression might trigger invasion of Syria

3. Gay Teletubbie Tinky Winky named enemy combatant and sent to Guantanamo

2. Just imagine what someone named "Condoleezza" would turn around and name HER child

1. If she DID have a child, we all know the father could only be her "hus...er...pres...er...baby daddy..."

nuff said...

(Go truthiness!!! Colbert Rules!!)

The issue is not selling burgers or books. When you have a part-time, pay the bills job, the issues are pay, convenience, flexibility. As it is for the LW who needs to make enough money to help with college.

The MAIN criteria are:

• Making enough pay, whether hourly, tips, etc., to meet expenses
• Convenience of getting to and from the job
• Ability to plan schedule around school, classes studies
• Decent working environment

Whether you're selling burgers or books is irrelevant. Sure, if you can be working around something you love, that's gravy, but it's not a deciding factor for most people who are trying to pay the bills with a part-time job.

And deciding between burgers and books is utterly subjective.

Because if a burger job pays more, has more hours, has a nicer boss, and nicer co-workers, and the bookstore pays crap, and the manager is a nightmare, and the schedule's always changing, then I'd rather sell burgers than books.

When I was 16, I was so excited to get a job at B. Dalton. We were getting a new store ready to open, and I was out of my mind with joy at working around books. I toiled full time for weeks, excited that the store was almost ready to open, until one day, the manager called us all together and said, "oh, by the way, we didn't tell you, but we hired way too many people for setup than we actually need after opening, so half of you are being let go."

Basically, a big SCREW YOU to all of us who had worked so hard. I'd have rather worked for an honest burger joint...

So much for working at a bookstore...