What an insult to Brenda Lee Johnson! Comparing her to Sarah Palin! Brenda Lee is a smart, articulate, serious professional woman with a firm grip on reality. Kyra Sedgwick is pretty cool too.

Ever since the Dixiecrats defected to the Republican Party, the GOP has taken on the electoral philosophy of Southern demagogues. Feed the white working class an exaggerated sense of self-worth, and victimization, while at the same time robbing them blind. This was the operative principles behind the success of George Wallace, Lester Maddox, and Strom Thurman, perfected by their progeny, from Georgian Lee Atwater to Texan Karl Rove. Their credo, intellect is a manifestation of upper class white elitism, and liberalism, if I may be blunt, the philosophy of nigger lovers.

As the former Dixiecrats gained greater control of the Party membership, they pushed out the "elitist" and "effete intellectuals" who could be openly associated with the Ivy League and Wall Street, while still doing their bidding. As Obama correctly stated, using God and Guns, the were able to hoodwink the white working class into believing that they were one of them, while at the same time working adversely in their interest.

Over time, the "Good Ole Boy" actors like George Bush and now Sarah Palin became the face of the party to perfect the sham. The elite conservative business and intellectual classes simply learned the efficiency of outsourcing the face of governance while maintaining economic control.

I've tried so many times to articulate to my GOP parents why I know the GOP, as it is now & has been since Reagan, is so incredibly bad for this country. Everytime it turns into a heated argument. I read this thought it might help. It's so strange they are good people. They give generously to charities, encouraged all of us kids to get an education & see the world, etc. But they cling to the GOP they refuse to see it's not Eisenhower's party anymore. I know I can't change my parents. I'm hoping they'll at least start to be open to another point of view. Sigh!!

and the majority of the swine who write here at Salon. You people deserve the scorn you get and more of it. What DC needs is less of people like you, Biden, McCain and Obama and more of the real American. Your definition of "qualified", well, comes straight from your brain and since you are a liberal, it is obvious you must be smarter than everyone else. On top of it, you act as if you know what conservatives wanted and want.

Anytime, anyone comes from outside of your little world of "intellectuals", they must be stupid. The American people clamor for something different than what we get in DC and so what do we get? We get a bunch of Senators running for president and one of them dares to go outside for the VP. What do the snobs at Salon do? They spend the next three weeks with irrelevant banter and hatred over someone who doesn't come from the elitist social class of the Kerry's, Kennedy's and Bush's.

No, you have no clue what American's want and you sure don't know what qualified is. Palin's biggest obstacle to answering a question directly sometimes is the fact that her running mate is McCain. She can't answer the way she feels because her Pres. is a typical Senator. But no, she must be stupid, after all, she is a woman right, Joe.

Moron.

And she was gleeful when she "corrected" Biden, who had said, "Drill, drill, drill," to "It's, 'Drill, baby, drill.'"

Moron cubed.

Why do Bush/Cheney voters, who are about to become McCain/Palin voters, hate America?

Joe,

It didn't take this Conservative past the beginning of January to understand what John McCain was all about. With the nomination of Palin and weeks of discovery to follow, not to mention the economic crisis, I am learning that the GOP will currenly sink to any depths to keep the White House, even at the expense of a significant core of Republicans. Most of McCain's slide is due to the economy, but rest assured that there are other people finally waking up to the phony populism of McCain and the inflatable doll quality of Palin.

The so-called Republicans who cheered Palin on in that debate... well... they wanted to drink the Kool-aid anyways, but that 5 - 10% of Republicans that were not impressed, were other folks like me waking up.

The GOP is going to pay a huge price this year at the polls. I have written countless letters to the RNC and other grossroots organizations warning them that the real Conservatives are still not done exacting justice - that 2006 was just a warm-up act. I will enjoy watching my party suffer after offering such a Presidential pairing and finding new ways to insult my intelligence, over and over again. Yes indeed, I will take much pleasure in this election day.

I think you have got it wrong mate. Most of us are not slagging Palin because she has a different political perspective. I'd even place good money that some of us would even welcome the opposite perspective expressed intelligently.

Me personally I'm always for upping my game.

Why we are slagging Palin is because she is a poor quality opponent who is being cynically used to garner the base who at the same time insults the intelligence of the rest of us.

The only person that wouldn't care less that the person with the finger on the button couldn't even pronounce the word 'nuclear' properly would be the character played by Slim Pickins in the final scene of Dr Strangelove.

and I couldn't have said it any better.

When I read Kathleen Parker's columns in another popular publication I cynically thought she was playing games ... setting readers up as Cons are wont to do. They love political gamesmanship and blindsiding voters and, readers.

Sure enough, her column in today's paper is filled with fulsome praise (all of sudden!!) for Sarah Palin's Freddy Kruger performance at the so-called ... debate.

When are you libs, progressives, Dems, whatever, often so cluelesss and soft, ever, ever going to learn to NOT even attempt to bolster your arguments by using (always temporary) opposing arguments from the opposite side?

You're and by that I mean all Democratic supporting writers, arguments should be always be able to stand on their own merits and not ever, ever have to resort for back-up from the manipulating comments from your sworn enemies. It makes you look weak and desperate to score your points.