you don't give featured speaker slots to people who give half assed endorsements our presidential candidate.

Just as Bob Casey...or right he is dead....

in any case he didn't endorse Clinton.

Can you ask a more disingenuous question? Or is this Democratic Party thing as foreign to you as it is to the average PUMA or Cougar or whatever you are passing yourself off as these days....

I don't think anyone thinks in their heart of hearts that Bill Clinton is a racist. However, Bill did do some things that could appear racist. I think he was just trying to win at all costs.

However, I think that this primary campaign proved that you cannot reel Bill Clinton in. No one puts Bill Clinton in a corner.

Hillary should have proven that she could control him, and Bill should have proven that he could control himself. If Bill and Hillary could have proven that they were capable of restraint, self-discipline, and discretion, Hillary would probably be the VP on the Obama ticket right now.

Wow, I don't think I've ever seen you so active in the letters section. You must feel very strongly on this one. First I must say I agree with you about being called a racist, even if you've spent your whole life deploring racism you're always just one hurt feeling away from bearing that label. On this very board I've been called both a racist and a sexist in anger, (which befuddles me as my wife, whom I love and respect, is of a different race!) It's always a shock, something unexpected, when it occurs and therefore it carries very little weight as anything other than an insult. Kind of hollow, and most often it seems to come from... (drumroll) other white people. Makes one wonder if it will enter popular slang. (Yo, Racist, what's up?) Towards your first poster I will direct this: "Unless you actually feel as if you ARE a (insert your applicable racial slur here) then why let it bother you?" I certainly allow accusations of racist and sexist roll off of my back because I know with certainty that I am not. In fact it's much MORE insulting to be called a Republican on these boards!

On a different note though, you seem torn. At once you're both bitter about Hillary and supportive of Obama, however reluctant that support is. I can empathize, I was an ardent Edwards supporter... but no one cares if he was treated unfairly by the media or campaigns. However, I admit I'm getting a little tired of reading about how disappointed you are about it. I understand it's the hot topic here at Salon and there are herds of angry PUMA who love to rant and rave about it and how Obama is a cheating anti-christ who disenfranchised Hillary with rabid sexism and a deck of race cards. Still, spare us. It's not to be changed at this point. Maybe if you will stop bringing it up in every column other PUMA will begin to get over it.

is a no-brainer, for all the reasons Joan mentions. When my own family is in the midst of interpersonal conflict and we suddenly find ourselves thrust into public, there's an automatic tendency to "act natural." Amazingly, after socializing with others, we ourselves find we've forgotten or at least forgiven the family for the slights. I assume that a smooth convention with the Clintons and the Obamas together may serve to ameliorate the relationship.

As for HRC for VP, I just don't see how it could work in terms of personality. I honestly think BC shows way too much bitterness for a healthy working relationship. It's like he's jumped the shark. I can only say that I feel for him. I think much of the baggage against him is unjustified, but a niggling idea stays with me: this kind of "misunderstanding" seems to follow him. Even if I genuinely think he's a victim of an overzealous press (AGAIN), I can't help but worry that whatever he does to get himself into that position isn't going away soon. That's no good for an Obama presidency.

Give it up, my dear. You can't win with the Bill-and-Hillary are racists crowd.You can't win with those who believe if you offer any slight criticism of Obama, and you're white, you're racist. If you're black and dare to criticize him, you're an Aunt Jemima, Uncle Tom and all their offspring. I do believe their constant braying and parsing just about everything Bill and Hillary say as racist is hurting Obama in a big way. Apparently, to compare Barack Obama to any Black person, including MLK is "racist."

The most egregious and unforgivable act of this election season was when Hillary was accused of "denigrating" MLK for basically saying you need the right person in the White House to support and sign needed (and right) bills into law. To use MLK's name to perpetrate such an evil act will be remembered for a very long time.

Bill Clinton is traveling all over the world, especially Africa, in the fight against AIDS. In America he's fighting against childhood obesity. But do we hear one word about that in the latest bullcrap put out by the media? No! All they want to do is rile him up about his "racism." My God! Why wouldn't he be mad as hell?!! Yet these same people want him to go out an stump for Obama! Why would you want a flaming "racist" stumping for you?! Stay home, Mr. President!!!

Joan, throughout this primary you were my favorite political columnist at Salon because you were the only one willing to acknowledge that Clinton supporters had legitimate reasons for feeling skeptical about the Obama bandwagon.

But in this article, most of which I agree with, you can't say "white" without saying "privileged" or "sheltered." Excuse me, but this white man has known, lived with, worked with, and dated African-Americans. I haven't been sheltered from "them" and I'm angry as hell that the Obama camp chose to paint the Clintons as racists. Let's not forget that Obama is not descended from slaves (though his wife is), yet he played on the generational resentments of AAs in a cynical attempt to cleave them from Hillary's side.

Unforgivable.

On top of that, he's the least qualified candidate for the presidency since...George W. Bush.

I won't be voting for him (or McCain) this November, and I actually hope he loses (I say that as a lifelong Democratic voter, but it appears the yellow dog has died this year).

Four years of President McCain is a price I'm willing to pay to see Hillary elected in 2012.