Debating Palin and debating Clinton you will soon realize are too different animals. Clinton was vilified as a feminist and was and appeared to be tougher than the rest (men or women). The difference with Palin is the unknown national reception to her.

An attractive mom, full makeup and a updo -- who also happens to be tough. That is a combination that makes her unique in selling to R men. A "girl" that knows sports - even better. Palin is as pretty as Romney and prettier than John Edwards. But, maybe Edwards can give her the number of a hairdresser.

This whole talk of pandering to the Rep base is absurd to me. . . Palin works on as many levels as why she doesn't work. Just like Biden. . . She has the pull with woman(yes some Clinton women will vote for her simply because she is a women); she has young family to reach out to the youth with McCain's daughter; she has a down syndrome child that will appeal to many people for different reasons - whether they have special needs people in their family or because she choose to have her child after knowing this fact. Watch the Dem men start showing their latent sexism.

I am listening to the pundits. I know a little about Palin and need to research her more. My judgment is still out. However, Obama is noticeably affected by the news. That bothers me. Larry King showed a split screen where Carville winced as he watched Obama talk about her. Carville seems so impressed with Obama and I like Carville's maverick ways. I think Carville has latent and/or displaced feelings for the way Dems handled this election so far. Up to this point, Obama's campaign was a copycat of the 1992 masterful election with people like Carville and Stephanopoulas. Now, the playbook doesn't have the answers. . .

The way this is handled over the next couple months will help me decide and get off of wait and see. So far, Obama/Dems have not responded well.

Had Obama connected the 18 million voters to his ticket - Dems would roll into the White House in record numbers. I would be a decided voter. For the general electorate, they vote based on who they identify with. . .I think you will see people starting to identify with Palin. If the ticket was Obama/Clinton, the excitement would be uncontainable and Dems would have had record turnout. I fear that the Dem primaries/caucuses will have higher turnout than the general election. Obama's campaign has lost the excitement - - how is it going to get it back. Excitement is necessary, blended with substance and hope. I agree that Palin would not have been selected if Hillary was on the Dem ticket. . .I do not agree she is a token. We all know it is about strategy.

Pride / Sour Grapes or fear of being upstaged, Hillary wasn't considered as a VP. That shows a much bigger lack of judgment than McCain taking a "risk" on a leader from Alaska. In some ways, Obama's campaign is turned on its head the last couple days. McCain's congrats to Obama was also priceless. They fought one woman, but they need to realize this fight is different.

It might not take much for that scab that formed this week over the open sores of the primary to be scratched off... Obama is in a catch-22, he needs Hillary by his side (genuinely) a lot a lot - during the campaign to neutralize things. The question is how believable will that be to you and me and those that vote without knowing much about who they vote for. . .

Rebecca,

I am not certain that John McCain's nakedly cynical selection of Sarah Palin is going to be the dust up you're imagining. I feel that smart, discerning women who were passionate about Hillary Clinton are going to see (if they don't already) right through this cheap shot at their intelligence. And watching Susan Molinari on MSNBC making it up on the fly about this woman made me want to run out in front of a bus. This is just one more desperate shot by a guy who must know (especially after the crescendo of the Democratic Convention and Obama's earth shattering speech)that he has slightly better than a snowball's chance in hell of getting elected. If anything, this brainwashed, Religious Right fem-bot will drag him to that very chamber in the concentric ring in Dante's Inferno reserved for hypocrites and corrupt politicians.

I'd always heard that there were conservatives more radical than John McCain and George W. Bush but I never really expected to see one on a national ticket. It's hard to imagine anyone rational pulling the lever for this clearly insane and howlingly stupid match-up. The GOP didn't just shoot themselves in the foot on this, they took a meat ax and chopped the damned thing off! I guess they figure they have a spare.

As open-minded as McCain's appointment of Sarah Palin may appear, it seems obvious to me this appointment is meant to be a throw-away gesture to appease Hilary-supporters. Clearly Sarah Palin is under-qualified, and as a woman, it does nothing to boost my confidence to see a woman nominated simply because of her chromosomes. That is not progress. As a Hilary supporter myself, I would be insulted to see Governor Palin win a position in the white house as a pawn in a political game. It makes me sad to think of this woman benefiting off of all Hilary has worked for. If Senator Obama had picked Hilary as a running mate just because she is a woman, it would have been just as insulting. I'd like to think Senator Obama chose the person best suited to him. That's about as fair and un-sexist as you can be.

But even among more reasonable Democrats, the Palin pick does create worries for the still-tender party, not the least of which is that it will reopen a debate about whether Barack Obama should have picked a female vice president, or more specifically, Hillary Clinton.

Only if the media keep writing about such "likely" debates....

Let's have a little faith here, people. Even Pat Buchanan said this was the best convention speech ever. Can't democrats even enjoy that and start working on beating McCain-Pallin in November?

It's only eight weeks. Can we not beat up on our nominee YET again? No circular firing squads for democrats? Just once?

If he loses, god forbid, write all of the shoulda-woulda-couldas you want.