Bevv, your response is very interesting and informative. I hope you posted this on more than one blog so many people see it. I knew there had to be something negative about Obama. This is huge. Yeah, if someone seems too good to be true - they usually are.

If Hillary wins, there will be 25% of the Republican women voting for her and I will be one of them. If Hillary is not running, I will be voting for McCain. Likewise, you men underestimate the number of Dem women who will not vote for someone as liberal as Obama or someone as corrupt. Do you know he is associated with- let's see Ayers (Weathermen), Rezko/money transfer from Lebanon/Bashar Assad/Arab Charities [yep- Obamam on board and gave them money], Jones, Pastor W and a host of other people who we know here in Chicago are in the Daly Machine or in with Farakkan and black supremacist.. So. I predict. Obama is the one who will lose to McCain. Especially if McCain puts a woman on the ticket. Now a Clinton/Obama ticket -- that might fly, but probably that wouldn't be loved by Hillary supporters either. Its been 232 year and the men in this country who are misogynist --the weak males that must dominate and haven't matured to balanced people--are going to learn a lesson from this election. As are the members of the press as well. Thank goodness my son came home from college and I learned the young men in college are learning about gender prejudice and perhaps this next generation will be fair with women. I am hopeful. As for the rest of you male-bonding jerks--there's no hope for you--you need to lost the power.

I voted for Hillary Clinton this morning...our next president. Why? She is passionate clearly spoken and she can multi task as most women can. It's time for a woman president. All my life women were told they "can't" for one reason or another, only because men wanted to be in the limelight women were put on the back burner, or no burner at all. I've seen it all. As a woman I was taught to make a man look good. I was taught to lose so he can win! No more! And please women today..never take the back seat. This is why we need to unite. But that aside, I firmly believe Hillary is the better choice.

I watched the Nevada debates and it was clear that Obama did not have a handle on the senate voting process. He voted present because he didn't like something in a bill, when he should have voted yes or no on the bill. Then later it was revealed that Hillary and Edwards voted yes on a charge card interest ceilling of 30% where Obama voted no because it was too high. Then Edwards explained well you just gave the credit card companies the green light to charge even higher than 30% already. And that evening too. Obama listed his weakness as not be able to find papers on his desk. He is clearly not presidential material in my opinion.

Hillary has her stuff together. Her weakness was impatience. She wants to get in there and clean up this mess. She wants to make your life better. She wants to rise up the middle class back to where they can afford to live again on their salaries and be able to save money.

Yes, keep the conversation going.
But, while everyone is entitled to their opinion, let's back them up with facts. Anyone can make a claim to support their views. But without a little humility and some facts, credibility is lost. We cannot know who will win, how the politics will fall out, and how a given candidate will perform when he/she gets into office. All we can do is figure out a) the right questions to ask to best inform us who will be the best choice, and b) how to ensure that they live up to their answers. This discussion will help us frame the right questions. But to ensure accountability once in office, we have to act, not just talk or write. To act, we've got to contact our Congressmen/women, to make sure they truly represent us. If they don't hear from us, they will make uninformed decisions. We bear the responsibility of ensuring that our elected officials do the right thing. I'm not sure how we failed so miserably over the past 7 years. I know I should have been more informed, and made my voice heard. And I will not let it happen again. This country, and this world, is too important to sit idly by. Let's make sure our government speaks for us once again. All this coming from someone who was blissfully ignorant of the government just a few short years ago. Seeing the Bush administration's destruction of our present and our near future really lit a fire under me. I hope it's done the same for all of you.

I say we can't get over Lewinsky because the Republicans won't get over it. They want Hil-Dawg to win the Democratic nominee because they have the sludge tanks all ready to drain on her and us.

So 96th day, when Clinton does become the Dem candidate, will you simply sit home or vote 3rd party(if the opportunity arises)? Because when all of those Hillary haters stay home or go third party, the GOP wins again. Something Phoenix clearly understands. Gotta stop swallowing the media propaganda, it shows.

I must say... it's very refreshing to read the voices of BRILLANT PEOPLE!

Ladies and Gent's keep the Dream Alive!

"Folks not supporting her support have vowed to elect anyone but her. Edwards folks can see their way to getting behind Obama, but not Shillary. " -- that's not true. I'm an Edwards supporter and I will get behind whoever is the Democratic nominee.

We need to do all that we can to keep the Rethuglicans from taking the White House next year. America can't afford 4 more years of Bush policies. No matter what.

I will hold my nose and vote for Hillary before I vote for 100-year-war McCain. He's not the independent he was in 2000. Now he sounds just like Bush: endless war in Iraq, permanent tax cuts for the rich, and bomb, bomb, bomb Iran. Yikes! No way he's getting my vote.

Watching the Hillary and Obama camps spar from the outside is definitely a different view than those who are in it. Obama supporters need to stop letting Bill get under their skin. After all, it's just one man's flawed opinion. The Rethuglicans will be much more horrible to Obama if he is the nominee. Stop crying "unfair" and start fighting! And Hillary needs to tell her husband to butt out. His outbursts are not helping her campaign at all. She's needs to show voters that she can handle criticisms on her own. And if he mentions race one more time... she needs to put him on time out! We're tired of superficial divisions and we want more discussions on the issues.

Hmmm...and if Hillary was able to get over Lewinski....maybe everyone else should get over it.

Nice try. I guess if the press says it enough times it eventually makes it true...just like WMD? And what's with Gerson referring to McCain as "...positive and honorable..."? Is that another: say it enough times makes it true? Has anyone actually seen McCain's behavior lately? Certainly NOT positive OR honorable. Its really nasty in FL. And wasn't the Washington Post recently purchased by the guy that owns faux/FOX news/noise? Think people!!

I hate to tell you but she is going to be our next president. At least there will be better healthcare. It could be worse, a milktoast kind of leader? I think she will do a good job, I thought Clinton did a good job. Personally, if Hillary got over Lewinski, I think she shows a positive example of a wife who loves her man anyway, and will stick out "for better and for worse." Too many broken families, I am voting for her.

Ain't no 'might' lose. If Shillary gets it, America WILL remain under Rethugnicon marshall law for at least four more years. It's already being said that the voters who support other Democratic candidates will either vote Rethug or not vote at all, if Hillary gets the nomination. Folks not supporting her support have vowed to elect anyone but her. Edwards folks can see their way to getting behind Obama, but not Shillary. Ditto Obama's folks. Most of them will work with Edwards and even McCain or Ron Paul, but not Shillary. Bill's last tantrum didn't help that, either. Fairy Tale? Please! The real fairy tale was his denial of having sexual relations with that Lewinski woman, or trying weed, but not inhaling it.

Hello? Unite the ticket!

Get best of the both worlds with Obama and Edwards. Who do you think Edwards is goin' after? White voters in the South who see past her facade. He's at 21% and rising. Next week he's gonna drop after South Carolina as the spoiler and join Obama's campaign. Together they have more delegates and more national support. Their platforms are nearly identical, and Obama would be the social uniter while Edwards as VP becomes the opposite of Cheney now (robbing us through Reganomics).

(FINGERS CROSSED!!!!)

She can go back to the Senate and rule as the legislative queen. Imagine her and Nancy Pelosi, holding hands together legislatively while the boys are in the white house. Girls in the legislature, boys in the executive. It works brilliantly!

Ah, nonsense. Any one of our Democrats can beat any of their Republicans this year. For proof, just look at the turnout numbers at the primaries. It's not even a contest. It's a wipe out! Whohoo!

I prefer Edwards because he embraces progressive principles firmly and unapologetically, but I will proudly vote for any one of the three.

Jan, I like and have great respect for your stance on things so please don't take it the wrong way if I rebut one of your points on Clinton. If you are unsure about whether or not she will undo the damage Bush did to our civil liberties, I know for a fact that none of the Republican candidates will. They torture, wiretap and find new countries to bomb with relish! It's written into their platform. They've said it time and time again at their debates. It is my hunch that any one of them will continue Bush's dictatorial shredding of our constitutiion for sure.

Personally, I would rather take a chance on Clinton than vote for any of those Rethugs. Not an ideal solution, but hey. Life is not ideal. (Though I'd much rather vote for an Edwards / Obama ticket!)

Clinton may be calculating, but she'd be competent. We'd never have the Katrina fiasco on her watch because she'll have every helicopter, boat and bus there to get everyone out. Maybe it'll be a shrewd calculation to save her career, but none the less, she would not have let Katrina become a debacle. Also, we wouldn't be begging for Saudi oil or China to loan us more money. As politically shrewd as the Clintons are, they have a way of getting the international community to cooperate with them.

I think voters just need to hold her accountable to her campaign promises, loudly and often once she's elected. (If she becomes the nominee) And we'll be okay.

Yes, JanforGore, we should insist than she, or any president, repeal the Patriot Act, signing statements, and every other assault on the constitution. This is the question we should be asking the candidates NOW - will they reverse specific changes made in this administration? If not, then we cannot support them. To support that would be unconstitutional of ourselves. We must demand that changes be made. We are responsible for who we put in office, and do have a voice through the Congress, if we will only use it.

Hillary's strategy seems to be "I'll convince people to like me once I get the nomination." First off, does that make sense? Are the rabid anti-Clinton fanatics going to be "convinced" by her speeches to not only swtich from Republican to Democrat but to support the hated Clintons? Another question I have about her is that she keeps saying that the job of being President is as difficult as being a brain surgeon -- um, not really. Yes, experience in economics and military strategy are all important and the more any candidate has the better. But having said that, um, exactly what "experience" is actually necessary? Hillary knows how to physically draft legislation and present it for a vote. So does Obama. As far as I can tell NEITHER candidate knows anything more than just the basic mechanics of drafting legislation. Hillary is not an acknowledged Constitutional scholar and neither is Obama. Hillary hasn't sat on any major committee that I know of and neither has Obama. What I want is a President that cites David Allen's "Getting Things Done" and Anthony Robbins "Personal Power" as their experience! (I'm kidding) Seriously, aside from being a West Point Grad with 10 years military experience or being a Constitutional scholar, um, what "experience" could possibly be useful in the White House? What exactly is it Hillary says she knows more of than Edwards or Obama?

I agree Hillary is a corporate sale out lawyer. Your front runner here I think is Edwards but he does not seams to have t support he deserves. Obama could win a republican because came out after Bush you do not want a Mccain or do you?

If it weren't for the YOUNG people of the 60s who took to the streets for justice and peace and civil rights, do you think Obama or Clinton would have been able to run in this day and age? Again, disparaging an entire generation of people is not wise in my view. I would even go so far as to say that the YOUNG people of that time had a hell of a lot more fire for calling for real social justice than what we are seeing today.

Would she move to reverse all of the constitutional damages, signing statements, and unitary executive powers Bush has taken for himself that no one has dared to check? Would she move to repeal the Patriot Act, the Military Commissions Act that took away habeus corpus, and the acts that essentially give Bush dictatorial power in the event of another 9.11? Would any of them for that matter? Or would the temptation to have so much power at your fingertips change them? That is also very important, and why I am for impeachment of Bush and Cheney which she and the Congress she is part of has concluded is "off the table" even though it is their constitutional duty. If we don't hold Bush and Cheney responsible for their crimes and abuses how can we do it after they are gone to another? And how can those who had the power to do so but didn't be trusted to abdicate it themselves? Any so called "president" could do the same and we would have no recourse. That should concern us regardless of party or candidate. And i don't know for sure if this vote has taken place yet, but will she, Obama and McCain vote to get phone companies off the hook for their part in domestic spying? If they don't
vote against that or don't vote at all, again, how can they be trusted to uphold our civil liberties?

Do you really think that the president has any power - dont you know that both parties are the same

spend spend spend

we should all be able to live the way they do
we should all be able to party
Obama has said one good thing - it is time to get rid of the arguments from the 1960's - time for a younger generation to take control

Your right. I'm not 35 yet though, so I'll have to vote for someone if I can't vote for the Democrat.

Never abstain "uroborus8". Vote for yourself, in need be. Voting is essential to sustain a democracy.

Good discussion folks. This is why we are the country we are...for now. Let's be sure we keep it this way. Agenda item #1 for the next president, whoever he/she may be: Undo all of what the Bush administration has done to a) our civil rights, b) our foreign policy, and c) our good name. We've got a lot of cleanup work to do before we're back on track. It almost doesn't matter too much who the next president is, as long as they pledge to undo the wrong. This will be an administration to heal wounds, to prepare for the next administrations to move us forward. This is going to require an administration and Congress filled with intelligent, passionate, selfless people. Everyone needs to get out there, contact their congressmen/women and demand some critical thinking and hard work. Let's make sure this isn't a repeat of the fall of the Roman Empire...let's stick around for a while.

No, she is not the only candidate, which is why I'm having a very difficult time. I try to live a life true to my principles. I avoid hypocrisy as much as possible, so how can I take an action that would empower someone whose practices so starkly contradict my political beliefs? I may find myself surrendering my principles, which is a sickening thought.

Full disclosure I am and have been an Obama supporter but until recently I would have expected to support any democratic nominee. I now know with certainty that I could NEVER SUPPORT HILLARY CLINTON for president and I think there are a lot of us out there that feel the same way about here style and dirtiness.

Hillary is vindictive, unproductive and a total muddler. At the height of the Bush atrocities in 2004 I longed for the clinton era but now I hope we can move beyond this and get rid of the Clinton's and Bush's.

The same votes that pushed Bush into office twice, sees Hillary as the evil incarnate.

similarly to this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Jzv8CgclW0

McCain carries more diplomatic gravitas.
He was the best shot the Republicans had in 2000 for sanity, before everything turned all Crusades politically shellshocking him.

And what about Edwards?
Is America so turned off by the haircut to ignore logic and think Hillary is a more trustworthy candidate?

Of course, yeah know, cause Hillary is the ONLY candidate who won't own up to her faults.

Right?

Yep. If she wins the nomination I certainly won't be handing her my vote.

Her defense against every mistake she has made is, "you have to look at it in context". Screw context, just admit you made a damn mistake.

I was just thinking about that. I personally would have a very difficult time voting for Hillary because she supported the war. She also has yet to present a clear exit strategy. I do not support any of the Republican nominees either. Where does that leave voters like me? This may be the first election since I was 18 that I chose to abstain.

I completely understand what you are saying and yes I think voting for the war was a huge mistake but many senators and officials I look up to and consider leaders voted for that war because at the time and the way the White House presented it was "the way to go" though we know now it was SHADY. We can't forget the lies Bush and his camp told to get us ALL there.

As far as her political warfare; we all have our own opinions on how someone should run a campaign. Dirty? Clean? High Road? Whatevs! Point is, we ultimately have the power of our vote and that is what matters...you either play into it or you don't -- just know what candidate wants what you want and vote for them.

True. They're all politicians. And politics certainly has every capacity to be a back-stabbing business.

But Senator Clinton more than any other candidate currently on the ballot has mastered the art of political assassination.

That puts her in the same twisted company as Karl Rove and Dick Cheney. We must not be blinded by mere party affiliation. Power is power - and she wants it enough to compromise any ethic that would pose resistance in the mind of a reasonable citizen.

This includes voting to send soldiers off to die in Iraq in exchange for political points.

Criminalize her as much as you want; Judge her as much as you want; ALL of the candidates have their positives and their negatives. As much as you want to say SHE is the ONLY one...pure facts show you she's NOT!

Woody,

Please consider the following:

Senator Clinton has had designs on the White House for some time.

Going back to the resolution that she voted on, it's clear that voting for war would in an election have provided her credibility (as a female candidate) for taking tough, calculated military decisions on behalf of the United States.

Now that Iraq has in the mean time turned into a bloody fiasco, her public relations machine has done a superb job of delving into the language of the resolution as a measure of protection.

She knew damn well what she was voting on. And if she didn't - what happened to her knowing "experience"?

So Obama has said nothing bad about Hillary? And neither has his wife?

"If you can't run your own house, you sure can't run the white house!" - Michelle Obama

Rrright!? Denial anyone!?

Aman, OK we need an leader of the free world. Now if you take a closer look at this election between Hillary and Obama, it's quite un-fair.

Hilliary and Bill are tag-teaming against Obama. In my eyes that 's not a true sign of true leadership.
It seems that Hilliary needs the popularity of her husbands legacy to make her seem like a fearless leader. I must say, it she wins the "nom" I'm voting republican!

When on Meet the Press, Hillary Clinton defended her 2002 vote for the Iraq war resolution, saying that she "thought it was a vote to put inspectors back in" so Saddam Hussein could not go unchecked. She insisted that she and others were "told by the White House personally" that this was the purpose of the resolution, and cited President Bush's assurances to defend her position.

**Moderator Tim Russert pointed out that the title of the resolution was the "Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002." Clinton responded saying, "We can have this Jesuitical argument about what exactly was meant. But when Chuck Hagel, who helped to draft the resolution said, 'It was not a vote for war,' What I was told directly by the White House in response to my question, 'If you are given this authority, will you put the inspectors in and permit them to finish their job,' I was told that's exactly what we intended to do."**

She is a capable business woman and I am not concerned about that.
My concern is that she is not good representative of the people. ..she sells out to large corporations.
we need someone who represents people and normal businesses not mega criminal corporations like Halliburton and the crooked health industries...not voting to go to Iraq ...we need change from that...that is Bush

The NYT gave Hillary the nod? There's a surprise.

They've published articles that have undermined Clinton's competition for months now.

No bias there.

Hillary Clinton is every bit as divisive as George Bush. To vote for Hillary is a knee-jerk response that she'll somehow magically recreate the 1990s.

The 90s are gone. And by the way -

Hillary Clinton voted to go to war in Iraq.

I'm so tired of people down playing Ms. Clintons ability to run this country! Give me a break people...we voted in George Bush, not once, but TWICE and she sure as hell will do 100x better than him and she is JUST as qualified to run this country as her opponents in this election. The media likes to say this and say that but you know what...the one they talk the most about is the one who is a force to be messed with...she is a powerful woman that I think is completely capable of running this country.

CarolynGillis,

Right. She's *no* different from any GOP candidate. Not one. So very true.

Where have I heard that nonsense before? Ah, yes: when Gore ran against Bush, everyone said there was no difference between them. Good call, everyone.

Hillary is a closet Republican.

Edwards is our only hope Obama is bought...cg