Interesting—have known for a while you can’t trust photos anymore. Look at how China faked some of the fireworks in the Olympic opening ceremony. I don’t think this photo really would turn her potential supporters off though. Who does it offend—her NRA supporters?, hockey mom conservatives?, anti bikini activists? I think this post has a little bit too much self-righteousness going on.

I think Sarah is window dressing, an example of how the Republicans have become masters of appearance and spin, how superficial they think most of the swing vote it. And perhaps they are right. I think she was an impulse pick, in fact David Brooks said McCain decided on her last Thursday, the day before the announcement. He only met with her once. The scuttlebutt I’m hearing now is that she is not a reformer —having used a lobbying firm to get millions in earmarks for her town of Wasilla, abuses her power—using it to get her brother-in-law fired. I don’t care about the pregnancy stuff, think it should be irrelevant. But if it was Obama with a pregnant teen, can you imagine what Karl Rove et al would be saying??

The Dems don’t have to say anything. The media is rooting out all her warts for them. I think her personal dramas are obscuring her policy positions, which is what the media and us should be focusing on.

There were several other women he could have chosen, ones with more experience. I heard some speculation that some of these were rejected as McCain doesn’t get along with them, and didn’t like others as they had too many of their own ideas. This choice came out of left field—have to wonder when the choice was made—Romney was all over the DNC acting as a McCain surrogate, and Pawlenty cancelled all his appointments for today and seemed to be getting more security last night. Did he decide after Biden was picked? Or perhaps as late as after Obama’s masterful speech? I wish Palin good luck, think she’s going to need it.

Have to question your assertion Monica that she is an environmentalist? Was that meant to be ironic? She is for drilling in ANWR, and she opposed putting the polar bear on the Endangered Species list. Hillary may be smiling, perhaps even laughing, but if so, she’s laughing at John McCain’s foolishness and that of the GOP. Hillary supporters are way smarter than he and the GOP gives them credit for.

What does it matter what he is technically? In common parlance, anyone in the U.S. who looks black is black, you know that I’m sure. He doesn’t have any choice in that. His father is from Kenya. As Kenya is an African nation, I think that also qualifies him to be called African-American.

I heard it was supposed to evoke the Lincoln memorial, site of MLK’s “I have a Dream” speech. But I think, like you, it was also supposed to give viewers a chance to see Obama in a presidential appearing situation, for all those who say—I can’t quite picture him as president. Well they got to try him on for size and see what they think.

Whoopi—I heard something last night after the speech that would gladden your heart. NPR had a national call in show, soliciting comments from undecided voters. A man called in and said the convention had been life changing for him. He never thought of himself as prejudiced, but realized as he watched the speeches and videos that he was, and that much of his resistance to Obama was the fact that he is black. He is now for Obama and it was so cool to hear him, not a talking head, an expert, just a regular guy who shared his thoughts and experience of the week with a national radio audience. It really touched me. Peace-W

I’ve always had to buy my own, and have been relatively lucky with the premiums. But this year I’m paying as much for health care insurance every month as I do in rent. Don’t know how much longer I can continue to pay at this level.

I’m with you Carol—very grateful to PBS. Way too much spin on the cable channels and with only 1 hour of network coverage much is missed.

I heard about it when I turned on the TV that morning after the accident. I don’t remember why I had gotten up early, what I had been planning to watch. Only remember the shock and horror as I realized the newscasters were saying Diana had died. I didn’t follow her closely, like so many I watched her wedding to Charles as a fairy tale come true. Then it dissolved and I thought she was a troubled, charismatic person with so much potential. It was a sad time. Looking back, I have to wonder if I was swayed by the media coverage—that I believed it to be a tragedy of world-wide proportions due to the media frenzy over the event. The movie “The Queen” is great for presenting the contast between “Diana the person” and “Diana the people’s princess”.

I don’t think most of us think anything about the Chinese cheering for the Chinese athletes—we Americans would be doing the same if the games were here in the U.S. Thanks for the reminder of Chinese “lines”—I spent a month in China once, visiting a friend, who taught me to have “big elbows” meaning stick your elbows out to help prevent people cutting in front of you in line. I found the Chinese very friendly and down-to-earth. Don’t lose that for “politeness”.

I heard our expectations of candidates expressed well recently—our problem is that we’re not just looking for a Commander-in-Chief, but also expect this person to be “Pastor-in-Chief”.

Good point on the population—while I can’t support forced abortions, I think they are right to work on limiting population increase. I heard this week that if the whole population of China today were to have the same standard of living as those of us in the US we would need another planet to supply all the resources—in short, it can’t be done. What the future holds I can’t see—perhaps a decline in our standard of living will occur as their’s continues to rise.

Well, personally I don’t think politics and sport should mix, but let’s get real. Athletes are competing for their country, which puts politics right in there at the core. And if the IOC didn’t see it as political, they why did they get supposed promises from China that it would improve press freedom and make other reforms in return for the games? Reforms that they then ignored. I don’t think the games will have an immediate effect on human rights in China, but I think the more we get to know them, and them us, the better it will be for all. Bob Woodruff’s special on China Wednesday was a real eye opener, and if you haven’t read it yet, hop over to the Huff Po and read the post by Naomi Klein called The Olympics: Unveiling Police State 2.0.