Would someone please explain to me why it is considered a bad thing that Hillary has been perparing to be President all of her life? Haven't we had enough of an ill prepared president and the damage he has done to this country in the eyes of the world? America's "can do" image is now the laughing stock at best of the world. Has anyone read the Pew world opinion research? So sad. I love it that Hillary is a good student, I'm grateful that she has devoted her life to the study of good policy.I depend on the network of other very smart and capable people that she has gathered over the years to roll up their sleeves and fix all the broken government agencies and departments with smart public policy.I'm thrilled that she has Bill at her back helping her with his genius.The world is too complex,our country too broken for anything less than a well prepared person to start the hard work of starting to turn it around.

As usual you hit the nail on the head about the Times lossing it's collective mind when it hired Kristol. And Maureen Dowd should get on Estragen and an anti-depressant as soon as possible, I haven't been able to read her in a while. I'm glad the bloggs are keeping their powder dry. We have a field of great canidates. I have had c-span on all day as they follow the dems around in Iowa and even though I am supporting Hillary I would be proud to work for any of them in the general.

I just want to add this for what it is worth to all the people who doubt HIllary's sincere caring for the "little guy". I live in rural Missouri,in an area that is heavily blue-collar and economically depressed as many of the constuction jobs have dried up with the subprime melt down. This fall I was rummaging around on a table full of junk at a garage sale. I found an old ,"I love Hillary", button and picked it up and said to no one in particular, "I supprt Hillary for president." A women across the table said, "me too!" and,"I have a Hillary story for you."...It seems a few years ago, during Bill Clinton's presidency, this lady had a teenage daughter dying of bone cancer. After long stays in the hospital fighting the cancer the mother was told there was nothing else that could be done and to take her daughter home to die. She did, not knowing that once you do this your records are filed and you are no longer considered a patient of the cancer ward. Once home her daughter was experincing such pain she didn't know what to do other than take her daughter back to the hospital. The hospital refused to admit her daughter saying the records were no longer available,even though the nurses recognized her and wanted to treat her. The desperate Mom didn't know what to do so she called the White House. It took her three calls but finally she ended up with the First Lady's chief of staff. Within hours the White House was in contact with the hospital and her daughter was admitted.What is so remarkable is that this poor women was not a person of influence,just a desperate mother.I encouraged her to write a letter about it to our local paper. I haven't seen it yet but I will never forget her story.

Of course this is a change election! What is it with the political dialogue in this country? Have we all become so simpleminded during the conservative junta that we can no longer think complex thoughts?I doubt that there are more than a few people in this country,religious nutcases,who don't want change even if they won't admit it.There are few defenders of the Bush disaster, only people who profit from it at the expense of everyone else in the country. I think that is one of many threads Obama has tapped into, people who voted for Bush twice and are now so embarrassed but unwilling to be beat up for it. They don't want to admit to being so dumb twice but they do want change.I would like for someone to please tell me how Hillary does not represent change? Why do the Republicans hate her so much, why have they spent millions demonizing both the Clintons if they don't represent change? A person can be both experienced and an agent of change at the same time they are not mutually exclusive traits.

As a Hillary supporter these last few days are just breaking my heart.I really believe she would be a great president.I think she has been preparing herself for the job her whole life and I think she is very prepared.I think she has a whole group of people who are very smart and talented to plug into the many,many broken places in our government.I believe she understands the levers of power and knows how to use them.I think she has studied the issues and has an awesome understanding of what needs to be done.All that said I don't see it happening for her.Obama has the wind at his back,the press loves him and they hate and sabatoge Hillary at every turn,people can't hold complex thoughts anymore and don't understand that one can be both experienced and a change agent(why exactly have the Repubs been demonizing her for years if she dosen't represent change?)and she is a women.Please don't try to tell me that gender is not an issue.