You nailed it. I was a Hillary supporter, I thought she was the more qualified, and, yes, I will admit, as a white female, part of me wanted to see us cross the finish line first.

But mostly I thought that there was no way that a half-Kenyan, son of a Muslim named Hussein could be elected. After Rev. Wright, I thought it was all over.

But he pulled it off. Damned impressive. And he got my vote and my full support. But I never thought he was the liberal giant, the great progressive hope, that many saw.

Just do three things, Mr. President. Get HCR passed, find a way to handle employment, and get us closer to ending these stupid wars, and you have a second term.

..but I have heard this all day. There are NO army bases. They are POSTS.

Hell yes...when you see her walk into that billiard room in "A Place in the Sun". How could you, at that moment, doubt it?

I love that she didn't much like acting and preferred to "lounge on yachts" with "fried chicken with lots of gravy". Is it bad that sounds like a pretty good life to me?

...that he was only in office for a couple of weeks is a straw man. He was awarded based on his campaign activities as well--Berlin, anyone? Not to mention the speech on race, his stirring acceptance speech, on and on-

Everybody is expressing what the Noble is "supposed" to be for. This prize is given once a year, not once a century, so the implications can be more temporary in my opinion. The prize has been given for a great variety of humanity-enhancing reasons.

The message the committee is sending is clear: "We expect great things from you, Mr. President, here is a token of OUR hope, and a little help in the right direction."

Actually, Techwood homes was the first old school housing project that was eliminated in preparation for the Olympics. It grew into a plan to rid the city of ALL housing projects.

Those homes were replaced with a mixed use communities which now include section 8 housing, apartments, and condominiums along with single family homes. It has not been perfect, but it has worked.

Since you asked...

Atlanta benefited greatly from the Olympics here. We wiped out decrepit crime filled areas and built shiny new parks, housing and facilities. I live downtown, (I can see Centennial Olympic Park from my window). That park became the center of new tourist development: The Georgia Aquarium, CNN, and the Coca Cola Museum ring the park as well as America's Mart and a Children's Museum. It was the catalyst that brought urban pioneers like myself downtown.

The right wingers have seized on this issue in order to crow about Chicago's corruption and tie it to the president. They would love to derail the effort the president is making because they want NO part of his agenda to succeed, not even bringing the Olympics to an American city! Really??

Polanski has been given a pass with many people because:

He is 76 years old

He is a great director

He fled a crazy judge

The mom dropped her off

He's a holocaust survivor, who lost his parents

And the biggie:

HIS PREGNANT WIFE WAS BRUTALLY MURDERED BY THE MANSON FAMILY.

I WAS 13 when the rape occurred and I remember thinking, "that poor guy is still so screwed up..."

Intellectually, I know he is guilty and should be punished, but I find my emotions mitigating that. I REALLY try to be outraged, but I know I am not alone in feeling this way. I do think he should face justice, whatever that turns out to be.

Now proudly displayed on my Facebook...

No you get a grip. Thanks for inviting all these trolls in here to tell you they told you so while you wring your hands. I'm sure Sarah Palin will be happy to get your vote in 2012. Good luck with that!

I hear you, I really do. We are on the same side. Just a couple of things:

I didn't literally mean all straight old people. I live among progressives of all stripes. It was just a figure of speech.

As far as spiking the ball goes, I meant the big picture; after YOU spike the ball, we will still have FGM, indigenous peoples with endangered environments and women in burkhas. And after that human rights that aren't even on the radar yet.

Yes, the government is behind on gay rights because they are elected by a majority that is not quite ready to give all of those rights. All those private firms give benefits to their workers not only because they are open-minded, but because it is good business. If the stockholders ever thought differently, you may have seen slower progress there, too.

I see the President as a slow and steady strategist. I have no doubt that he is more of a supporter of gay rights than he lets on. Right now it's a poker game. Let him fix health care and then see where he can spend that political capital. Peace, friend.