Now here is the question:

Will she destroy the Party or will she abide by the democratic process?

Will she concede gracefully or will she fight on?

Certainly one of the most positive results of this compromise -- which now effectively ends Hillary's hopes to secure the nomination in 2008 -- is that she will never have the opportunity to bring people like Harold Ickes to the White House. This guy is virtually a microcosm of everything that was wrong with Hillary's campaign: his flexible ethics, his tenuous grasp of the truth, and, above all, his inability to grasp how ridiculous his arguments sounded.

From Ickes to Howard Wolfson to Mark Penn to Tery McAuliffe, Hillary had a knack for hiring craven mediocrities who were completely oblivious to nasty things like facts and math. At least we never have to worry about her having the opportunity to assemble a cabinet or nominate Supreme Court justices.

Thank you, DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee. You've spared the country another eight years of incompetence.

Hey, you nailed that one.

Hillary's campaign demonstrated what a DISASTER CLinton II would have been. She has the personnel anti-Midas touch: Everyone she hires is a shit. Carville has degenerated into a swamp of bitter scum, Ickes is a total disaster, Penn horrible.

Obama, on the other hand, hired well, has had to get rid of only a couple of loud-mouths, and has run an excellent campaign. He has demonstrated class and intelligence.

Now, if we can convince Hillary to give him bowling lessons and instruction on shooting beers, we are in the money.

Thanks to Walter Shapiro for broadcasting to us a particularly strange and awkward moment in our nation's voting history. Though I am an unbending Obama supporter, it seems odd that Democratic nominees can turn their back on the voting public. It's true that Obama was honoring an agreement by refusing to campaign and run in both Florida and Michigan, which I respect, but when the agreement involves ignoring votes, I can't feel too enthusiastic.

It would seem that the majority of Salon readers will vote for Obama in the coming election. And we all want to see the backs of the Republican regime. You could argue that these are unique circumstances that call for unique measures. In order to win in November, we can't all win in the primaries. But respecting the voting citizens is key.

Having said that, my patience with Clinton is running dry. I assume that she will not be the party candidate and whatever future role she plays in politics, I won't be supporting her. Additionally, I don't believe Joan Walsh's spin on her assassination comment. Clinton is an accomplished public speaker, and even if I gave her the benefit of the doubt, mentioning murder seems, at the least, Freudian.

Then why in hell did this woman go to all this trouble?

I have nothing but contempt for this woman; after all, its not as though Obama is dangerous radical who must be stopped.

She is tearing the party, never very cohesive, apart.

What's her game? What's wrong with Clinton? She craves the power too much and can longer be trusted.

and it's complete bullshit all around. I can't stand this kind of grandstanding and partisanship. Nobody seems to be genuinely objective. Everyone who talks about the sacred individual voters--in hushed voices and with moistened eyes--would precisely be taking the opposite tack if Hillary were in Obama's position. And the ones talking about unifying the party would be doing the reverent worship of the Victimized Voters Who Turned Out Anyway thing if their candidate, Obama, were in Hillary's position.

I honestly thought this proceeding would have had more dignity and a seriousness about looking for an equitable-enough solution.

I thought Harold Ickes was disrespectful, immature, posturing and, oh so narcissistic in his rant at the DNC Rules Commiteee today! Is this really the person Hillary Clinton wants to represent her? I cannot believe so. I just cannot wait to see the MacClintons GONE from this whole messy primary, so we can get on with electing Barack Obama--who is respectful, mature and has his narcissism in good perspective!

Let's get on with it. NOW!!!!

Wow, so why is Obama taking the votes when he chose to not even have his name on the ballot.

Every time and Obama supporter says " I can't stand this woman" I really want to run and join in the unity party. When will you people realize that half, of the voters voted for Hillary. And until you respect her and her voters, you will not get anywhere.

Keep not standing this woman just because she did not think that lesser qualified candidate should have the nomination. Keep denying her and her voters the right to see this process to the end.

So, since you are outraged that we got to count the votes, cause Hillary pushed it and her supporters pushed it, give back the delegates and the votes.

will not be satisfied until their candidate wins the nomination. They expected nothing less from the Rules and Bylaws Committee. Consider this representative Clinton supporter: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KACQuZVAE3s

I'm so sick of the Obamatons claiming Hillary "craves" power! What is it your leader craves? A first term senator who started running for the presidency the moment he landed in Washington. A man who played dirty Chicago politics by recruiting lots of new voters then did everything he could to disqualify them in order to knock off his Democratic rivals in a primary. A man who's willing to throw his mentor pastors whom he considered "family" for over twenty years under the bus. A man who threw his own grandmother who helped raise him under the bus. A man who has now thrown his church under the bus. All for political expediency and the pursuit of power. Oh no, the new messiah isn't craven for power. He's a saint. I feel so sorry for the childish fools who will eventually find out that "eek" he's a politician.

One thing is clear: there's a desperate need for a viable third party in this country. The Repugnican party has long been unrecognizable from what it used to be after being hijacked by the racist right. The Democratic party has clearly been hijacked by the misogynistic, venom-spewing loony left who don't plan to win a presidential election for at least a generation. But they don't care as long as they feel good in their narcissistic bunker. There's nowhere for reasonable people who truly care about this country and the world we live in to go but to a third party.