You're right when you assert that I don't know you.

I only know your narrative, which leaves me wondering, "Why that?!?"

There are fine stories. We can choose to tell this or that, but you choose to tell (again and again and again) an odd story, one of brilliant and glib woman who's obsessed with distant shores, an anonymous and distant pot-shotter and shit-stirrer.

If I can't, in not knowing you, not love you, it's because the casting of your character is crap. Sure, it shines, but that's not the glint of gold. That's the lack of patina. And beneath the girly shine, you're all burrs and bumps. I have urged you in the past to get to your point. Don't confuse being prickly with having a point. I urge you again to abandon your shtick. It's a conincidence that one can easily spell "shit" using the letters in shtick, but in a perfect world, it wouldn't be.

hey folks, we can agree that ms palin is not right for the post, but when you deliberately (don't lie, now) choose such an unflattering photo to show me how lame she is, you only reveal yourselves as doing what your detractors say; words should suffice, but your picture says 1000 words- about you, not her; thanks, bob terrill, ft collins, colorado

Many thanks to Joe Conason for saying it like it is! I have wondered myself how far you can do this parody of pandering to "real-life" folks before it becomes insulting! I found all that winking, gosh-darning, and semi-flirting deeply insulting and demeaning! This must be the work of Republican strategists who try to figure out how to touch real "folks." Somehow it reminded me of the equally offensive habit of talking down, as in fake baby talk, to terminally ill residents in old people's homes!

I have a question: is the Republican party and McCain's campaign especially only addressing white small town people? I see no effort to reach out to city lovers, or to minorities of any kind or to new citiznes, who might not be as attached to the fake-folksy-nostalgic small town America that seems their unique frame of reference. And by the way since when are places such as New York, Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego, or Boston "unamerican?"

Transhuman,

I applaud your commitment to Ron Paul and the Libertarian Party but I'm afraid you'll continue to be frustrated and disappointed with American politics until you become more realistic in your expectations.

I mean, what if I told you I hoped America elected an inexperienced political hack who steadfastly believed the road to greater American prosperity was to raise taxes on entrepreneurs, close corporate tax loop-holes while maintaining the second highest corporate tax structure in the industrialized world, encourage an increase in off-shoring of labor through unionization of American industry, and suffocate free-trade deals that open new markets to American goods?

You'd think I was crazy to have such an unrealistic hope because such an outcome was unthinkable in a country like America.

Wait a second.....

I'll be fair. I can think of some reasons to vote Republican other than stupidity.

1. You get a charge out of listening to the other customers curse while you fill your gas tank.

2. You're a huge fan of hobo fights and are thrilled to have access to more and better hobos.

3. Being strip-searched is one of your fantasies.

4. You always thought the National Guard had it too easy.

No? Then I'm afraid I still don't see the point.

Telelogicus, I haven't read the entire thread so I don't know if anyone has called you on this, but your posts are strangely devoid of content. You have a true genius for saying nothing and using a lot of words to say it. I'm with Strunk and White, however; I prefer the short word of Anglo-Saxon derivation to the long string of Latin words. I greatly prefer the short sentence that gets to the point to the page of text that means nothing.

There are reasons to prefer smart people in charge. If you don't believe me, try loading a car for vacation at the direction of a stupid person.

There are also reasons that even a person of normal intelligence can see that the Republicans have led us greatly awry: eight years ago, gas in my town was 67 cents. Eight years ago, I had exactly zero college-educated friends out of work. Today, gas is almost four dollars and I can't easily count the number of friends out of work. Eight years ago, people from other countries liked Americans. Today they don't. Eight years ago, it was possible to mention the President's name on the telephone, secure in the knowledge that it would not result in being banned from domestic flights. Today that's no longer the case.

You have to live here too, so I must ask: do you think you're immune to all of this? Do you honestly think the entire country can go down in flames and you will remain unscathed? Are you expecting Rapture Pick-up to happen before things get too uncomfortable for you personally, or do you have enough friends in high places that you're confident you will be one of the new ruling class? Do you honestly think that calling on the name of Jesus will save you when you've ignored every instruction he ever gave? Or are you actually a paid shill posting from Mother Russia?

Wait, wait, wait. So you're saying that you're not a jerk? That I'm projecting that you're a jerk.

But Norb, I've read all yer huffins'n'puffins and you quite clearly are a jerk. An ill-informed, venomous cad and bounder, to wax anachronistically.

And don't try and weasel out of killing the puppies, dude, I've seen the pictures.

Therefore perhaps I don't exist You flatter yourself if you think I'm trying to impress you or anyone else. Writing to Salon is my secret vice, known only to my husband who doesn't read what I post nor do I ask him to get embroiled in any of this. I think you could be very narrow-minded because you clearly have preconceptions about people and like to label them.

I don't welcome being approached by strangers, expecially those suffering from copraphilia. You've attempted to jostle me several times with your four-letter execrations. As there has been so much discussion on Sarah Palin's perceived lack of polished fluency, you might consider cleaning up your vocabulary - even extending it - if it's civil disagreement you're after. Your demands to me to explain myself to you seem very hectoring. I don't know whether you're animal, vegetable or mineral, male or female or hermaphrodite, and it's not my business to know. All I ever do is read what's in front of me and respond to the written words, if I feel inclined to do so. Now, bigguns, I don't care how big they are but if you have any sense at all you'd desist from tackling me. I don't lie down all that easily for the likes of you to trample.