I said it bothers me that they, and a guy with the reputation of John McCain, would stoop to pulling a political stunt when the last thing we need is this kind of game. I find it truly baffling that McCain gave into this because his history does not indicate he is this kind of guy. He survived being a POW but I think something in him must have been killed when he ran against Bush in 2000. He must have come to the realization that you do "black love child" your opponent to win and that there is no way around it.

See the thing is, Pat, I hear a lot of people say they want to make a statement with their vote and I think the most important statement we can make is to say no to this kind of "distort, scam, smear" campaigning. Republican strategists have been openly saying that this kind of campaigning will not end until somebody proves to them it does not work. It comes down to the fact that they figured out a negative ad or smearing your opponent is at least 5 times more effective than running an ad about or promoting the positive aspects of your candidate. People just don't hear and pay less attention to the positive stuff but the negative stuff sticks and people spread it on their own. So, if they have money to spend to get their candidate elected they will spend it to "distort, scam, smear" because they figure it is money better spent. Republican strategists also admit that their "base" responds better to fear where the Democrats base responds better to ideas. So again they will not stop this kind of campaigning because they have determined to get Republicans out to vote and get a higher turnout you have to scare them. Only you and people who vote Republican can prove them wrong by either not voting or voting against them.

"Other than making cool speech's why is Obama qualified to be president? Answer he is not."

This is one of the Republican fabrications, Pat, and part of their reason for sticking Palin on the ticket. Obama is now very qualified to be president and is truly battle tested at this point. His qualifications have already been listed here and although the Republicans want us all to compare him to Palin there is no comparison. I never was concerned about his qualifications my concerns about him always had to do with how he would hold up under pressure and if he could still in the face of enormous opposition get things done. You know Obama still runs and oversees his own campaign, writes his own speeches, and oversees the development of his policy positions. This is a bright guy that gets things done and has a track record of success. He has shown enormous leadership skills and a hands on approach I admire during his time in Washington and particularly during this campaign. There is no question he is a very impressive candidate. While he has been in DC long enough to learn the ropes and what you must deal with he has not been there long enough for people to be concerned that he has been corrupted by it. The fact that the Bush administration created a constitutional crisis in Washington and this still needs to be addressed and repaired also makes Obama about as perfect as a guy could be to be president of the United States at this moment in our history. He is an expert on the Constitution and constitutional law. This is one of my favorite qualifications he has. In comparison Palin drifted from college to college finally getting a degree in journalism and scoring work as a weather girl or sports reporter or something. That's great if she wants to be the Republican version of Keith Olbermann but she does not hold any sort of credential (not pedigree) that qualifies her to be VP or president of this country.

John McCain does not run his campaign nor does he have much input. His handlers constantly complain about his gaffes and having to constantly correct him about simple facts and contradicting himself. Basically they feel they must babysit him and this has angered McCain. The result and compromise being they are trying to keep him more separated from the media.

"He is untested has tons of shady characters in his past and the only reason he got where he is at is the press elevated him to the level of Rock Star."

In 2004 you could have called him "untested" in 2008 he is battle scarred and ready to serve. You probably do not understand this but running a presidential campaign is a 24/7 365 nightmare and when you are facing the kind of pressure Obama had to it's amazing he has been able to handle it. He faced the biggest, baddest, nastiest monster in the Democrats arsenal in the Clintons and won. He has been fighting the RNC smear machine at the same time and amazingly has kept this contest at a dead heat. He was not the favorite to win. The media, the Republicans, and most of America had Hillary Clinton anointed the Democrat and likely the next president and until the primary season began Obama was basically a blip on the screen. He has now shown the one thing I worried he lacked, the ability to put up a hell of a fight and win. Palin is not qualified to be mentioned in the same breath as Obama and the fact that the Republicans are selling this hogwash is pathetic. The "shade" you speak of in the above quote, Pat, has nothing to do with Obama or his past but rather you and many who think like you shading yourselves from reality and the truth...courtesy of the RNC and folks like Karl Rove.

"If the press went after him like they have with Palin his numbers would drop immediately."

If the press did their goddamn job all of us, including you, would laugh our asses off at the notion of putting Palin on the ticket and we'd all have a clear view of who these candidates are instead of the distortions many people now labor under.

"Obama is nothing new and definitely not a reformer which is what Palin will be given the chance."

This comment specifically highlights why people call you names here, Pat. It's so outrageous and so far from the truth the only thing a person can think is that you are joking, nuts, a liar, or not too swift. Palin's history shows she is not a reformer, has never been a reformer, and will probably never be a reformer. She and the McCain campaign have sold this fairytale and it is a total lie. She's a wasteful, money grubbing, idiotic politician, that puts cronyism above qualifications that has little concept of the world outside of Wasilla. She might be fun at a PTA meeting, a book burning rally, or be the right person to pick out dog decorations to hang around the town but she sure as hell has no business in national politics unless it is to create an ugly shitstorm to scam people.

"What impresses liberal elitists is a pedigree. What conservatives like is a plain talking results driven common person."

Drivel, Pat, utter nonsense. Everybody likes a person that speaks plainly and can get results. Obama does this. Palin can get you a good deal on salmon decorations.