that some supporters will actually vote for McCain if Obama gets the democratic nod over Clinton. Clinton and Obama have nearly identical political platforms, yet because Clinton might not get the nomination, some people will aid McCain in his effort to nominate socially conservative judges who may very well continue to rewrite our Constitution and further erode individual rights?

This is the most selfish thing I've heard this election season. I support Obama but will support Clinton if she gets the nomination--because they are, ultimately, very similar politically. I do fear that Clinton will do exactly what Kerry did in 2004--win all the blue states but lose the crucial swing states. I don't think that there is much risk in assuming that either Clinton or Obama will carry New York, Massachusetts, and California, but a candidate must win beyond the solidly blue states, and I fear that Clinton will not (excepting Arkansas, her adopted home state).

Nonetheless, if Clinton is the nominee, I will support her because my Constitutional rights hang in the balance. I am not so shortsighted as to throw my support to John McCain in my favored candidate does not win the nomination.

"Latino Super Delegates like myself who are elected to represent the voice of the Latino Voter will have cause to pause. For those of you who have committed to someone other than Obama and Clinton."

What the hell does this mean? Is this supposed to be a single sentence that Ybarra separated with a period? If I am reading this convoluted message accurately, Ybarra is implying that he, as a superdelegate, will think about casting a vote for someone other than Obama or Clinton. If that is the implication, all I have to say is, gee, Ybarra, I'm sure that'll show Clinton. (That's sarcasm on my part.)

This will help end the myth that John McCain is a liberal.

I think what Anne Lamott means is that she's tired of Keira Knightley constantly pursing her lips in an attempt to be dramatic or sexy or some combination of the two.

But that's what I think, so I may be reading my own prejudices into Lamott's response to the film. I would have been much more likely to see Atonement (the only Best Pic nominee I haven't seen) if Knightley were not the star. To me, the lip thing she does distracts attention from whatever skill she has as an actress.

Are you $%ing kidding? Clearly, Elephantman, you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. You are correct in your characterization of Knight (though I would add "insufferable asshole who wore out his welcome fifteen years ago"). However, anyone who has spent five minutes in Bloomington knows that it is very liberal, the Democratic bastion of uber-red Indiana. Venture fifteen miles or so to the east, west, north, or south, and you are back in Republican (and racist) hell--but Bloomington is not conservative.

slander: a type of defamation. Slander is an untruthful oral (spoken) statement about a person that harms the person's reputation or standing in the community.

Just because Obama spoke an unpleasant truth does not make it slander.

My grandfather, now departed, was as deeply entrenched in early-20th-century rural Indiana attitudes as they come. He was a racist. I loved him, not his beliefs, very much. That is not a slanderous thing to say, only a truthful one.

You can't be serious.

The differences among the candidates lie not only in their relative intelligence, but also in their policies. McCain will have to do a hell of a lot more than "go green" for true progressives to vote for him.

When I bought The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan years ago, I was in high school, and I would examine the cover intently, as all new Dylan fans examine his album covers. I always wanted to know more about Suze Rotolo and her perspective on the early 60s music scene and, of course, on being the girlfriend of the greatest songwriter I've ever heard. And her name is similar to mine! I could always pretend that "Suze (The Cough Song)" was written at least in part for me because I knew so little about Suze's story--her perspective, her life after Dylan, etc. Now we get to read it. This looks wonderful and well worth the wait.

I reread your letter twice, just to see Gnaw Bone, Indiana, in Salon. As a recent transplant to greater Boston, I occasionally miss the Midwest very much, and your letter revived those pangs. When I was a graduate student in Bloomington, I loved driving past the flea markets in Gnaw Bone on the way to Columbus (Indiana, not Ohio) to pick up I-65. Westward Ho Flea Market--an awesome time.

but he sure has the refs on his side. The officiating in this series was--putting it mildly--pretty bad, especially but not only during the games at Cleveland. The bogus offensive foul on Pierce against LeBron (of course!) in Game 6 is only the most egregious example. LeBron unquestionably is a great player; he doesn't need the calls. Stuff like that is why the NBA gets a bad rap.

LeBron gets all the calls that Jordan did, without the prerequisite of winning anything that really matters. It's actually pretty pathetic to see him whining about the occasional call that does go against him.

But not as much as I liked the AP recap's careful description of it: "Tom Brady, wearing a black Giants hat with the orange letters "SF" on front, was among a contingent of Patriots at the game."

Is there another kind of baseball Giants hat?

They're discussing white Democrats. Obama's support among black Americans since the South Carolina primary is not the subject here.

it's the NBA. Almost everyone in the league could be called a drama queen.