Last night I posted the following on the Charlie Rose Show forum. Interesting program with the ladies Charlie, and I wish them the best of luck with the new venture. They are an influential group of women, and I would suggest that they read the following threads regarding the coming presidential election. After they read these threads they would understand why it is imperative that the Democratic Party draft Al Gore at the convention as its nominee for the general election. The thread also covers what it will mean for women and minorities if John McCain becomes president of the United States in November 2008. Here are the two threads: Al Gore - Democratic Party candidate in 2008. http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=74835 March 23, 2008 The Impact of a Democratic Party Historic Loss in November 2008. http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/3/23/3133/57688

After watching the Charlie Rose show last night, I thought I would give a gander to this site only to discover, to my great disappointment, another Obama lovefest. I find nothing inspiring about Obama - only platitudes and if truth be known, were he a woman he would have been laughed off the stage long ago for his lack of substantial positions. Have we all forgotten so quickly that W charmed the population using Obama’s similar words? I rather take a chance with the “wonkette”! Actions speak louder than words and Obama has demonstrated he’s no man of actions. Asking permission from the Illinois Planned Parenthood to vote “present”, 7 times, on legislation banning abortion without an exclusion for the health or life of the woman is completely unacceptable to me because it does not represent a profile in courage. Reading on “talkleft.com” his comments on foreign policy scared me more than anything else. I find it difficult to understand why a site for 40+ women would advocate for a man of so little substance and who basically put the lives of Illinois women at risk!

Let me introduce myself. You can read about my family background in politics on the following article. We have close to 40 members of our family who were over a period of time Prime Ministers, Finance Minister, Navy Secretary, Attorney General, Senators, Congressmen, Governors, and Mayors in Brazil. January 2003 - “The Brazilian Ruling Class” http://www.brazzil.com/content/view/2149/27/ You also can read my article about Brazil and the article explains why Brazil is in a special and unique position to help China. The Smartest Thing China Could Do Right Now: Invest US$ 200 Billion in Brazil - Written by Ricardo C. Amaral Monday, 01 October 2007 - Part 1 of 4 http://www.brazzil.com/content/view/9977/80/ Friday, 05 October 2007 - Part 2 of 4 http://www.brazzil.com/content/view/9979/80/ Thursday, 11 October 2007 - Part 3 of 4 http://www.brazzil.com/content/view/9983/80/ Tuesday, 16 October 2007 - Part 4 of 4 http://www.brazzil.com/content/view/9985/80/ Note: So far there are over 800 comments from the readers following these articles. As a leading journalist I am sure that you would enjoy reading at least part 3 and 4 of this series of articles. .

For those who want to help end the war. Get as many people to make these phone calls. Call Republican contributor and war contractor General Electric Corporation at 800 386 1215 or 203 373 2211 and tell the person who answers, that you want the GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt to get Bush to end the war in Iraq and then Bush resign with Cheney and until that happens you will not buy any GE products and that you will tell your friends about this. Then call a local appliance store that sells GE appliances and tell the person you will not buy any GE products from their store until they can convince the GE CEO to convince George W Bush to end the war and then resign with Cheney. Kentucky Residents: Call General Electric Appliances Corporation in Louisville at 502 452 4311 and other appliance stores that sell GE products and demand that they get Senator Mitch McConnell to get an end to the Iraq war and for Bush and Cheney to resign and until that happens you will not buy any GE refrigerators, stoves, televisions, dishwashers, ovens, lightbulbs, etc. Get as many Kentucky residents to make these phone calls. After you make these calls you can also call Mitch McConnell’s office and tell his office that you have called GE in Lousiville and won’t buy their products until Mitch McConnell gets an end to the war and gets Bush and Cheney to resign. General Electric Appliances 9500 Williamsburg Office Plaza Louisville, KY 40222 USA tel: 800 626 2000 tel: 502 452 4311 502 452 4313

I personally am a Republican living in Illinois. And I am a middle aged woman. Just the stereotyped class who Hillary claims is supposed to be behind Hillary. But am I…..you bet your last dollar I AM NOT behind Hillary. I have carefully followed the campaigns of all of the candidates, both Republican and Democrat. Hillary says she has so much experience. Just what is that experience? Being a first lady. pfftttt! What does that count? It has already been proven that she lied about being under gun fire and having to duck when she and others visited a country in war. She lied on national TV about Bill NOT having an affair even though she knew he did and later admitted it. She now tries to cover up that she voted for the war in Iraq and guess what, Obama didn’t vote for it. And now comes the final brewhaha, she states she has more experience. Her and Obama have similar times in the Federal Congressional field as Senators. She has no public political service behind that Federal service but Obama does. He served in the the Illinois legislative body. Hillary needs to spend more time doing some coverup with her dealings with Whitewater as this would come out if she would be, by some fluke, nominated as a presidential candidate. I seem to remember she was paid some attorney fees in the whitewater controversy. The Billary campaign is just laughable. Sometimes I can’t get the feel for who is actually running - her or Bill. The election will come and I will vote. Will I vote for the Republican candidate as my father and my grandfather have done, just because I am a republican? I think not this year. This white middle age woman well on her way to old age who grew up in a small, totally white community, thinks the young african american candidate will be able to give this country a boost and make some much needed changes. I am tired of hearing Hillary’s lies and promises of a new promised land once she and Bill are the new president. Bill was impeached before and let’s keep him out this time.

HELLO! What ever happened to FREE speech?…. WHATEVER… I can’t believe no one addressed the issue of his strange bedfellows (Obama’s). Born Catholic but NOT a hypocrit, I went to a non-denominational church for 15 years and endoctrinated my children there and socialized with friends who also attended this church. I can assure you that no one stays in a place (friends or no friends),(pastor or no pastor) unless you are in agreement with the same things; but, perrhaps the members of thatcommunity are not human. I guess in my church they probably practiced “G0SSIP”! So, I believe Obama and his wife definitely knew what was going on. Hmm, does that make him a LIAR? Also, where were the people who study body language? Didn’t anyone notice how this normally glib man spoke very slowly, as weighing every word when answering questions regarding this situation and how often the batted his eyes?

It would be great if the Democratic candidate is neither Clinton nor Obama. Getting the republicans out is office is a major necessity for this country. They have destroyed our economy, our creditability, and our young people. So we must vote for whomever the democrats nominate and then be vigilant in making sure that the new president is for the people not the corporations or his/her pocketbook.

I have listened to so many speeches, promises , lies and truths and my 76 year old liberal brain is having senior moments. I trust no one in politics and I hope I will be able to pick a winner in November. One who ends the war and allows me to still work for the grocery money and the care I have to give to my Alzheimer patient husband.

Senator Clinton is not a charmer and will never be loved but she will be respected for her hard work and intelligence—she can help repair our self inflicted mess.

I saw you last night on Charlie Rose and immediately searched for Lesley’s piece on her new mattress. i did a search on your system for her and for “mattress” - but nothing. I sent an email but response was a computer generated got it. Can you tell us where Lesley’s article is? Thank you very much, Linda

OK ladies I found you by watching Charlie Rose last night, so there is finally a place to spew my guts! Thanks I do not think Obama is all “words”. I do think he has the ability to reach the masses however. First of all, I do not understand how it is known (as indicated in the media) whether votes are cast by women/men/black/brown/white. Is it just through sample polling? No one ever asks me when I walk out, and I do not recall ever having my sex, race or age put on my ballot each time (or at any time) put on my ballot… which I thought was private anyway. So here is my problem, I am a white educated woman in her mid 50’s, married to a white lawyer, with lots of friends (age 50-65) from the urban core of a large city and its neighboring white suberbs. I know some very staunch die hard Republicans ( particularly professional “men” and a couple of 90+ women… who have always voted Republican) that are very very tempted to vote for Obama. Of course the only thing they say that keeps them from committing is hearing the old “but he can’t win crud”. These folks, including my very skeptical and generally cynical husband, are listening to Obama and liking him alot. They are listening and watching beyond the stump speech clips seen on the TV. They are researching him. Of course the lawyer friends sat up and started paying attention after they heard he was what he was in the Harvard Law Review… impressive to say the least. So here’s my point and my question, how do “they” know who is truly leaning toward and supporting Obama and for what reasons? Polls are interesting numbers to qoute and I guess they are handy to use when one might want to influence public opinion, but one should know what the polling question was when one uses poll information. Just a few months ago I participated in a 15 minute telephone “poll” asking how i would vote in my state’s governor race. After a few questions I realized the questions were definitely asked in such a way that it favored one candidate over another. Without going into the details all I can say that it was a terrible poll… with very slanted questions on many subjects. Every time I hear that people are voting based solely on race or gender, I think… that person does not deserve the right to vote because they are ignorant and have not truly earned the right to vote! Being a “woman” of the 60’s and 70’s, and having spent 6th grade through 4 years of college in women schools, and being a member of a women’s organization (that was formed in 1894) I guess I am supposed to be for Clinton. I guess it would be assumed I would be… that’s the problem… “assumed”. Before Obama announced his run, I had a friend who heard him speak here in my city, she came out of the auditorium like a teenage groupie from a Beatles or Elvis concert, so I started “watching” him… cautiously. I went to a campaign rally for/with him for our primaries. It took two hours to get in (I have only been to one other campaign rally in my life… never really involved). Anyway, I stood packed like a sardine in a foyer with about 500 people of all races, ages, genders and economic backgrounds for about an hour before we were finally led down stairs to get in… we thought we were “in” but we had another hour of standing in line. The fascinating thing was that there was never anyone mad or pushing, never did I see anyone get disgusted and leave… there were just smiles. It turned out the pack of people I was standing with was just a drop in the bucket of the numbers of people at the rally who had come from a different way. I found a spot on the floor to stand, sometimes able to actually see him. Around me were samplings of every kind of person you could imagine. A young teenage girl who had been working for his campaign (Had his picture with a heart as the wallpaper on her cell phone! Sort of a crush!), she had brought her mother. She locked her arm in mine during part of it and her excitement and fervor rubbed off on me. There was a large black male, with his military baseball cap and jacket on, standing to my left saying “bring my friends home”. There were mothers and fathers with their children on their shoulders in front and behind me… all kinds form the inner city to the suberbs, they were there. They “vibe” was amazing. Yes he gave his stump speech, had heard most of it before, I was amazed though that it was not all rah rah hype and stuff, he was very calm and matter of fact during most of it, but of course he did the bit that gets the crowd going toward the end. I also witnessed a point at which he stopped midstream because someone in front was “sick” and he was concerned and waited till the person was helped, asking for a chair to be brought and not continuing until the person was OK. As silly as it sounds, he really did appear to care. The amazing thing that I felt, goofy I know, was that every time in turned while speaking towrd the direction I was standing, I really felt like he was talking to me personally, eye to eye. I know he did not see me, but he does have a gift. Beyond his “personality” and his gift of speech though, I have really respected what I believe is great intelligence and intuition. I also think he will surround himself with advisors who know their subject, and I do think he has the smarts to understand the info for decision making. Here I am, a woman with a masters degree, who worked in child abuse and neglect while sending my husband to law school till I had my first daughter then another daughter three years later. I guess to some I threw away my education when I decided to be an at home mom. I guess I really wasn’t at home though because i was one of the only ones that the school could call for “volunteering” in the classrooms (usually not in my child’s class) and the only one to serve on task forces just about every night of the week it seemd. No, my girls did not do all the soccer and music and stuff, I did not have time (as they will tell you now that they are young adult women). I also didn’t have that great meal on the table every night. But, I did have my children in the inner city schools, and I felt the need to be there. My experiences in child abuse and neglect in this county, my masters in special education, and my living in the inner city, (a block away from 40% of this city’s section 8 housing), and my volunteer efforts in the inner city schools has made me, dare I say it… a “liberal”. Folks… it is complicated out there in the real world. We need someone that talks to us like adults, and like we are smart enough to understand what is going on. We need to face reality, I know some of my suberbian Fox news girl friends who are too scared to come into the city need to wake up. They are wide eyed, but it is wide eyed fear that guides them, not wide eyed intelligence. OK, so now I am just ranting, I really just want to scream. I watched the hearings about the war yesterday, and told my husband that if I was a senator sitting there and listening to the report on Iraq, I would have had to go into a hot flashing stripping my clothes off pulling my hair out running and screaming out of the room rage! The fear mongering information is nonsense. If you think Obama is all talk, and no substance, listen carefully to the others, all you hear is staged rhetoric from the others… buzz words and statements supplied by the “party”… Iran, Iran, Iran, Al queda, there going to come get us if we don’t get them there, we gave Iraq freedom and democracy, they are playing soccer in the streets, its all happy happy happy, the surge is working, give us another blank check,etc etc etc. Hey folks if John McCain is the “best” military advisor out there, how come his (and Powells) knowledge and military experience was totally ignored by the administration and the Republican Party when they were in control of the Congress? For the gals who created this web site… who have the ability to tap into the media, and show some real truth about what is happening with this Obama thing, watch a video created by a teacher and students at an alternative school in the South Bronx. Listen to the kids, and you tell me “Is Obama what we need now?”

While “(racial) prejudice is subtle, and enduring” our culture is at least alert to it and is able to recognize, correct and punish such activities when they become apparent. Misogyny, on the other hand, continues to be tolerated and even celebrated by both males and females in our culture. It is blatant, deep-rooted and so ingrained in our psyche that most are completely blind to its practice and effect. I believe it is more likely that Hillary Clinton will lose the nomination at the hands of misogyny than Barack Obama at the hands of racial prejudice.

If Mrs Clinton would not get nomination, i will either stay home or vote for John Mccain. Mr. Obama may be a very skilled speaker but he lacks conviction and experience to be commander in chief. But i am afraid, America is not yet ready for a woman to be in top position. Says a lot about us.