While we all come here to essentially proclaim our own opinions and rarely do we consider the opinions of others, I think it would be uncivil of me not to speak up.

I read your letters regarding the Iraq war. I too have marched and been arrested in opposition to this war. That is exactly why I am voting for Obama. I think we, as citizens, have to do everything in our power to stop it, to stop innocent people from being killed. The longer we stay in Iraq, the longer our soldiers will die and the more embittered Middle Easterners will be recruited to fight against us. We are generating our own enemies by continuing to occupy a country that does not want us.

This is why we have to unite againt McCain. He will not only keep us committed to this disaster, but he will map out a strategy of aggression against other countries.

You say Obama is nothing but a man with fancy words? Maybe that's what we need right now; A politician who can speak, not just to US, but to the entire world. I believe that, as a head of state, no other man could compare as our representative and spokesperson. His and Hillary's respective candidacies prove that we are not just any country with the same power dynamic. In this election we have running a Vietnam War vet, a woman and the first successful black presidential candidate of this nation. I am a serious critic of America as an empire, but on a day like today, I can't help but think that America IS great.

You don't have to like him. Hell, I'm sure that after the first 100 days, I may not be a fan of him, either. But that would be true for ANY viable candidate (barring Kucinich. We all know that he could never be elected.) I just want to get on with my life and stop living in the fantasy world of the Republican Regime: Where oil will last forever, global warming doesn't exist and Iraq is Mission Accomplished. I want a president who will face those realities head-on and I believe Obama will do just that.

A word from our editor, Joan Walsh:

I'm disappointed in Obama and his lack of ______. He could have _______. His crazy, mentally deficient supporters shocked me by _______. Overall it was a great campaign season because we got to choose between two well-qualified candidates, but (insert back-handed compliment to Obama, questioning his skills as a leader.)

[ETA: I swiped this from a letter I wrote in a different column, but I figure it belongs here more than anywhere else.]

A word from our editor, Joan Walsh:

I'm disappointed in Obama and his lack of ______. He could have _______. His crazy, mentally deficient supporters shocked me by _______. Overall it was a great campaign season because we got to choose between two well-qualified candidates, but (back-handed compliment to Obama, questioning his skills as a leader.)

"He wil be crushed by the Republicans, and as for me, don't count on my vote. I will sit this one out if the more qualified candidate (Hillary) is not on the ticket."

Now that's standing your ground. I guess you told US! We at the letters column on Salon--the Obama supporters here and beyond--we get that you have been angered by the turn of events. If there is a lesson to be learned we will learn it on election day if what you say is true.

Of course, most of us are not fighting an unjust war. Most of us are not dying for a cause that McCain is only too happy to let continue. I will go on and continue living my life. But a McCain presidency will mean far more dead American soldiers than an Obama presidency (to say nothing of our civil liberties and the illegal and invasive behavior of the Republican regime). Please think of that on voting day in November.

"WRONG! He shared those views by not objecting for many years."

I take it that you have never had a relation that you objected to? A parent or sibling that you disagreed with politically? EVERY affiliation in your life has been one of perfect agreement?

I remember an old friend of mine describing how her catholic priest castigated an ENTIRE church for not sufficiently supporting George Bush, Sr. They should have tried harder! They should have campaigned. But because they were not obeying the commandments of GOD HIMSELF, they were responsible for all the future abortions that would occur under the Clinton presidency. All of them!

And, yes, she is still an ardent catholic. She didn't walk out. She held firm in her belief that it was HER church as much as his and she could decide how best to respect and honor God. Hell, it's what people do every day in America and elsewhere! They go to church and worship in the best way THEY see fit, and they don't always agree with the sermons of the preacher.

I can see why he attended that church. It advocated social justice. It told him to be proud of his heritage, to be both black with dignity and a lover of the teachings of Jesus, who was a rabble rouser AND a man of compassion and equality. He was all those things according to this church. I don't feel one bit confused at Obama's choices. I feel respectful.