then him and his rediculous party will look as pathetic as they are.

The guy who should fold his tent is Howard Dean. He should give it to a guy who actually wants the job. Reminds one of Fred Thompson, who rated his enthusiasm for running '6' on a scale of '10'.

Howard loves Vermont too much, abdicating his post every weekend for the misty mountains.

Drop out, you silly goofball!

That's my take.

How will he possibly withstand the scrutiny of debate with either of the Democratic candidates? Or the juxtaposition of his substantive gaffes with their preparedness?

However, I am hopeful that whoever gets to debate him will use that opportunity to allow McCain to reveal his legendary temper. Just the sort of temperament we DON'T want inhabiting the oval office.

A word of caution from France: polls are skewed when people have racist (or misogynic) sentiments but don't want to admit them. The fascist Front National systematically scored higher in elections, due to the privacy of the voting booth, than in polls where people were ashamed to admit their preference to a flesh-and-blood human being. I don't know how this will work in the US elections because it's the first time a black or woman candidate will win the nomination of either party. But it's quite possible that the same thing will happen as in France, that is, that racism or misogyny will be more marked in the elections than was predicted by polls.

That being said, I don't have any response to Steve's question except to say: good question!

I'd like to see the 2 Democratic candidates agree to spend 1/4 of their energy each on addressing the deficiencies of the McCain candidacy. Let his campaign have to defend itself against each of them.

you left out almost sunk an aircraft carrier.

not to worry. Think of it this way...McCain is running around preaching to the converted. He spits out his policies to his own people and supporters and they clap and call him GREAT. The media, wusses that they are, suck up to him and don't challenge him the way they do Clinton or Obama. McCain could say damn near ANYTHING and nothing would happen. But Let a Dem say one think wrong, BAM!

The good news in this is that he has a chance to solidify and memorialize his bad ideas. He is being lulled into a false sense of security. (Remember this is the same guy who literally said only a few weeks ago the economy isn't his strong suit. He said this amidst a flailing economy 0 a sure indication he hasn't a clue). So let him keep being clueless. Let him repeat his stupid over and over and over at every campaign stop so he can't weasel out of it by saying he misspoke or something think that.

Its all good. Don't worry.

As much as T.V.'s talking-heads may inflate or spin "news" stories, the Democratic Candidates have done nothing to re-focus the topic - to the real issues. The onus is on the candidates to keep the real issues in the spotlight. And to not let McCain coast along.

Most of us are not stupid. We know right from wrong, whether the news is presented by FOX (wrong), CNN (less wrong?), NPR (almost right?) You cannot blame T.V. for all that ails this country. And you cannot blame people who watch T.V. for these problems either.

I've learned to filter what I hear/see/read and take most news with a grain of salt.

You make some excellent points. I subscribe to Mother Jones; The New Yorker; and The Nation - all excellent sources of first-rate political writings. Most public libraries will have them.

I do not listen to ANY political coverage on TV or radio - with the exception of Bill Mahar and Keith Olbermann. NPR has been completely coopted by the repubs - same for PBS.

I subscribe to the Washington Post because it is my local newspaper, and I cannot start my day without a paper with my coffee - but with the exception of a few of their writers, such as Dana Priest, Steve Pearlstein, and Walter Pincus, I don't read the political stuff. I no longer read the New York Times on a regular basis. They have completely lost their way.

Try to listen into the BBC on the web. They are quite good. Lots of good books out there.

I am disappointed and disheartened by the Democrats in entirety for not taking advantage of the opportunity to focus on McCain, and by association Bush, the current Administration, all of the problems caused by this Administration... As the article points out, (finally! because I've been saying this for months)

"Clinton and Obama have been engaged in a contentious primary fight, in which they've not only hammered away at each other's negatives, but have also been focusing far more of their energies on each other than McCain."

There is a whole slew of issues caused by the Bush Administration that the Democrats could talk about. Shine some light on McCain and a host of troubles caused by the current administration will start scurrying around.

It's the simplest strategy possible, yet...

My husband says that the Democrats have to choose a candidate first, then the real campaigning (against the Republicans) will begin. I disagree. I would welcome Clinton and Obama to focus on the problems caused by the current REPUBLICAN Administration. Highlight what's been broken, made wrong, corrupted, etc. and how they will FIX it.

...that have been giving the "Straight Talk Express" a free ride... that have given the Bush administration a free pass...

Don't any of you folks out there wonder who these people are?

I don't know about you all... but I want some NAMES!

It seems that we all agree that reporters continue to toe-the-line; because they are paid outrageous salaries that encourage them to stomach and regurgitate the garbage that is fed, through them, to us.

Is there nothing we can do?

Perhaps we stop consuming their trash?

Could we collectively stop watching network news? Can we all peel ourselves away from the television?

I have come to the determination that television is responsible for so much misinformation and divisive discourse that I refuse to watch it anymore. I won't pay for it!

How about we READ our news from reputable sources? Is that possible?

It is T.V., with all these empty talking-heads, that has blown all of these ridiculous stories (featured in last night's "debate"), completely out of proportion! They have taken us away from the issues, while allowing Sen. McCain to coast along; unscathed!

And while you're at it... if you CAN manage to unplug yourself from the T.V.... maybe READ a book; instead of watching American Idol or Dancing with the Stars, before you switch the T.V. back to FOX or CNN (pool or pond).

MAYBE read a book to a CHILD!!! Don't park your kids in front of the boob-tube-babysitter!

...

And these POLLS!!! We read these less-than-credible, and easily manipulated numbers; and let them throw us into a frenzy?!?

Aren't you all a little fed up?

We all complain about it, but we continue to fall into their trap again and again!

We need to take these "reporters" to task! Publicly call them out!!! Expose them for the frauds that they are!

Do we need to begin some Guerrilla-Truth-Squad to infiltrate press conferences and so-called "debates?" ...to call out the no-talent-hacks who moderate these debates and distract us with their bullshit!

Stop giving your dollars to these networks AND their advertisers!!! Get off the grid!

Am I fooling myself here?

Are we all so dependent on the corporate-consumer machine?!?

What does everyone here think?

Thanks all.