Letters to the Editor
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Why ignore your own participation in the Obama bashing?
I don't understand why you make it sound like others are offended by Obmama's actions when you yourself are among them? I hope this isn't because of the jerks who essentially closed down the last letters columns. I'd rather they were just removed from the discussion than having you back away from your views. Indeed, I wish you were more forthright in expressing your opinon (my problem has never been your dislike of Obama—I don't agree with you about him, but that's beside the point—it's your unwillingness to be upfront about it).
Much as I don't care for McCain, I'm not sure he's wrong about Iran. They've got missles know, and I can pretty much guarantee you Israel is preparing for the worst. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has not made the sort of statements likely to reassure anyone about his position on either Israel or his attitude towards the Jewish people. This is a time to be very wary of Iran.
The viagra/contraception question is a non-issue. His discomfort was strange, but this is small potatoes and surely everyone knows it. No one is going to alter their vote based on this issue. It's also fairly easy to see why one is covered by insurance and the other isn't. Helping someone to get an erection doesn't really have much to do with whether the person will then plan or prevent a pregnancy, whereas birth control does just that. And there is the possibility that birt control leads to opening the door to insurance coverage for abortion. And no insurance company, let alone any HMO program, wants to involve itself in that controversy.
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Two legs already...
...the third's just around the corner to firm diagnosis.
1) Forgetfulness, a lot.
2) Anger[y], very
3) A genuine tell-tale cognitive mishap. All sort of possibilities.
Needs testing. ALL candidates for ANY high office do, maybe 'specially old people, but McCain's cryin' for it. And we haven't got any system in play to do it.
[Need one...standardized,lots of checks, fail-safes and monitors. Privacy for candidates be damned! They're total volunteers.]
Just do. And, of course, we won't.
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Walsh is correct about McCain bein' looney on Iran
The U.S. and its allies should be involved in all the earnst
DIPLOMACY
That they all possibly can.
A good place to start might be for the U.S. and Iran
To have official relations
So that we don't always have to go through so many
Stupid machinations.
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Back on track?
The only way McCain could possible get this stinker back on track would be for him to concede to Romney and subsequently beg to be his choice for VP.
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Next to Obama's FISA sellout, McCain's stumbles are NOTHING
Which candidate lost more support among their own base? McCain for not wanting to talk about birth control? Or Obama for selling out the Constitution?
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FYI
McCain wasn't even present for the vote
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A worse week for Obama
Many Democrats are wondering -- especially after yesterday's FISA vote -- why they should bother electing Democrats when all they seem to do is rubber-stamp Bush's requests, whether they be for telecom immunity or more funding for war.
I, for one, decided that Obama's vote for the FISA bill was the last straw. I'm voting for Nader, unless the Democratic convention dumps Obama and nominates Kucinich.
P.S.
A month after emerging victorious from the bruising Democratic nominating contest, some of Barack Obama's glow may be fading. In the latest NEWSWEEK Poll, the Illinois senator leads Republican nominee John McCain by just 3 percentage points, 44 percent to 41 percent. The statistical dead heat is a marked change from last month's NEWSWEEK Poll, where Obama led McCain by 15 points, 51 percent to 36 percent.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/145737
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Help McCain?
Are you kidding? Let's hope he keeps self-destructing. We can't afford to have another Republican in the white house.
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a Nader supporter who's pleased about McCain's numbers?
right
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@Christopher1988
I know a thing or two about Iran's political system from having studied overseas at the American University in Cairo some 18 years ago. Mr. Ahmad-I-Need-Job before long will probably be needing to look for a job as he has earned much ire from some of the most conservative mullahs in Iran's majlis, and the convervatives are his political base. Furthermore, the office of president is mostly window dressing when it comes down to real Iranian politics. The ultimate leader under the constitution is Ayatolla Ali Khameni, not a pissant like Mr. Din-e-jad. Mr. Din-e-jad is catching a lot of heat for what many in the Iranian government consider his overly flamboyant style, and elections in Iran are not far away. It sure is a shame that the Clinton administation missed a golden oppurtunity to mend some differences with Iran when Mohammed Khatami was making what I felt were some honest overatures to America to seek some kind of feesible raprouchment. An oppurtunity of dialouge instead of the usual poisoned atmosphere would have been much appreciated, but an oppurtunity squandered often later leads to what we are now witnessing.
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@fishfry
It's a good point. Pound for pound McCain won the week. The lesser of 2 stumbles so to speak.
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@ John Anderson
My point was not that I was "pleased" with McCain's numbers; rather, it was that whatever Obama supporters thought in terms of coasting to an easy victory was rapidly evaporating, as evidenced by this latest poll.
In any case, McCain and Obama were in lockstep with Bush on the FISA bill. If you still want to support Obama and still want to believe that he is any different than the devil you know, go ahead.
I just don't belive in Obama or the Democrats any longer. The body of evidence supports my reasoning.
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From Joan Walsh
Christopher1988, thanks for putting all of that out there, I disagree with pretty much everything you said. But I appreciate your passionate participation on Salon.
I think McCain just looked utterly flummoxed and unready for primetime on the birth control question. I really don't like the ageist stuff, especially with so many people in this thread telling me how elderly I am, but...I am not sure it was age, maybe it was a tough question from his base, the media, that flummoxed him. Either way, he looked like hell. Let's start being honest.
Also: I think he's wrong on Iran: they've been baited by U.S. sponsored uprisings and Israeli military exercises, and they tested some old missiles (and maybe the test photos were doctored, according to news reports today.) I don't think we should be talking about another holocaust. That's crazy talk.
And I really have admired Obama since being bored in Boston in 2004 and thralling to his convention speech, but I've been disappointed in him since last fall, when he failed to vote on that awful amendment to condemn MoveOn (which Clinton opposed) and didn't show up on Kyl-Lieberman (which Clinton supported and which I criticized her for.) I try to take a light touch with all the projection that goes on in this blog thread, but truly: I'm an Obama admirer who very much wants to vote for him. And I hope I'll be able to. But since it's July, and not November, I do occasionally think through other options, and I will continue to.
Of course, every time I think through an option that includes supporting McCain, I can't. And any option that involves not voting or voting for a third party involves supporting McCain, so I probably won't. But since Obama seems to be contesting undecided or independent voters, don't other people think about whether it makes sense to be one of them? I know it's silly, because my name is all over Democratic voter information all over San Francisco, but...isn't the summer for dreaming about what you might do to make your candidate behave correctly? I certainly think so; what about you?