Joan, it isn't that the Wars Against Injustice, Intolerance and Poverty have been won. It's that the battle lines, tactics and rules of engagement (political correctness, quotas, "safe" seats, and tokens) are played out and have not led to actual progressive change. Gloria Steinem's analysis was necessary at the time but is now outdated.

We need to get beyond keeping score of who has been discriminated against more and if we are going to keep score, we have to be very clear in our analysis about what type of comment is out of bounds and what is not. Referring to someone's race, gender, sexual orientation, age or disability is not necessarily wrong, but being sensitive to the perspectives of people who are different from us is an important skill for navigating a diverse world.

Personally, as a woman, I don't think questioning whether Hillary's experience as First Lady is sexist by virture of the fact that it points out she is a woman. To me, it is more along the lines of asking whether Bush Jr. was qualified to be President or if he was just riding on his father's coattails. I'm a woman who worked, took time off to be home with kids, and am now back at work, and I wondered about HRC's 35-years of experience claim (and that is not even addressing the fact that when she was working separately from her husband, it wasn't always for progressive causes).

With respect to the culture battles--people in social categories of less relative power will be better off seeking positive empowerment, rather than digging in as victims. And people in more powerful groups should avoide defensiveness and realize that even if they don't mean any offense, offense may righteously be taken by someone who sees a comment as a reminder of painful discrimination and inequalities. From what I'm starting to learn about him Barack Obama seems to get this and approach these issues differently.

Without being dismissive of my elders, it does seem that older babyboomers are defensive about being told that there are younger people with new perspectives. As someone pointed out on this thread, getting older and being displaced by a new generation is something the lucky among us will all have to deal with, gracefully I hope.

you were right today, but wait for the coming weeks. the race is not over yet.

I nailed this with my prediction earlier today..LANDSLIDE FOR OBAMA..

WOW

Sounds like one of them Asian Fusion restaurants like Jose O'Chang's Place or Lee Ho Rodriguez's Mongolian Tacos.

Anyway Joe, turn the TV off, light the candles and get in bed with Mrs. DurianJoe and see what happens.

Thanks for all the invites, but the missus and I have just gorged ourselves silly on Chinese food and mucho saki, and it's either TV time or bedtime, who knows?

G'night!

It tickles me all over like I'm getting a tongue-bath by a pair of twin hookers.

When I was 17 all in my beatnik beard and black turtleneck Bob Dylan "up the establishment" phase, I took delight in tormenting the adults. "It's all your fault the world is so fucked-up," I'd yell. Finger pointin' songs, Bob Zimmerman used to say. You the masters of war, you who build the death planes, I want you to know I will piss on your graves! And all that shit.

And I don't know when it happened, but one day it wasn't fun any more and the "man" got old and died and then I became the "man." And now I've got you, Muse, telling me what an old piece of crap I am because I ruined your world. Well dude, soon it will be your turn to eat the shit. The decades go by so fast you wonder where the time went. And you'll have kids. And they will tell you how you fucked up their world and ate all the corn and drank all the good wine and now they ain't got shit and it's all your fault. And you can laugh at them, like I'm laughing at you, Musey. Because all of it, I mean all of it, don't mean shit.

I'm going over to Counterpunch for a while. Will be back later for the Opus critique.

I can't help it I was born. Could you? Don't worry, I won't eat up all your Social Security. It's gone already -- to Communist China to pay the interest on our debt.

BTW, I'm on record as being an Obama supporter, but that said, can you remind me again his detailed plan for saving Social Security?

I mean is it like Willard Romney's plan? You know, raise the age of eligibility to 70 instead of 65? Or is it more like Huckleberry Pole-jammer's plan: Get rid of the federal income tax and increase the sales tax on everything? Or is it more like John Wayne McCain's plan: "Burn old people for fuel"?

And what has Obama said about building more refineries in America to lower the price of gasoline? Oh wait, I heard that one. He said we're all going to be driving hydrogen fuel cell cars in 20 years. No more refineries. Just hydrogen fuel cell plants.

Obama's health care plan? What is it again? Single payer? Make it free, only let some people buy their own if they can afford it? Like in Orwell's Animal Farm, all the animals are equal only some are more equal than others.

Let me know, OK?

LOL. There's a reason those 60s warriors talk about the 60s... Because they sold their souls in the 80s and 90s and my generation has to pay the price for it.

I've always given credit to the baby boomers. They've paved the way for us in important ways.

But they've stopped being a positive force in politics. They and their wars will only destroy this country. Joan, what do you want, a bloody fight in which Rove and the GOP destroy Hillary? Because that is what will happen. If she won - which will never happen when so many people hate her - she would have zero ability to govern. No one would give her a chance. They'd impeach her over something.

Bill is running for a third term. It's over. Let them go. Listen to new voices. We can keep trying to get "revenge" on the GOP but we will never feel free of them, we will never advance all the things we purport to want. Do you want social change or do you want to stick it to Rove? It's that simple.

Once upon a time a fairy tale happened, he was "a man from Hope." He was such a challenge to the establishment. He went on talk shows. Played the sax. Had sexual affairs. Was a phenomenal talker. Had the guts to pick a southern white baby boomer, even though everyone said two baby boomers and two guys from the south could not win.

They won. Now Bill is trying to recapture that magic. Sorry guy. It's Obama who is fresh and challenging and new. Yet the Clintons want to destroy him.