My friend to the end would be Ted, for his deep sense of right and wrong and the courage to try to “do” as well as “talk,” for his enormous talent, his compassion, his intellectual curiosity and his great passion for everything. And for being a kind and true friend with a wonderful sense of humor.

You ignorant twit. Where is it written that those who make their living in a public arena can no longer voice an opinion? Did Whoopi Goldberg give up her citizenship when she stepped in front of a camera? When the klieg lights went on, did her brains fall out the back of her head? Whoopi is doing what everyone in this country should be doing - listening, thinking, speaking out. While Obama isn’t Muslim, there is nothing wrong with being a Muslim so get over that bit of bigotry if it’s possible for an ignorant twit to do that.

No such admission was made, Leah. There are many reasons for having abortions, all of them personal and painful. Would you prefer these women to go through with the pregnancy and be unable to provide for the child? Most abortions are not for convenience and if you have independently verifiable evidence that they are, let’s hear it.

You’re certainly entitled to your point of view and if you feel that way, you should never have an abortion. However, many others feel differently. Abortion is rarely, if ever, an easy decision, and a great deal of thought and anguish goes into it. That doesn’t mean that someone has been brainwashed or that they’re a Nazi. It’s a tough issue. In my opinion, no man on the face of the earth has the right to say whether any woman should consider abortion unless that man can become pregnant and have to deal with it. No man has the right to determine what a woman does with her body or to take away her right to choose.

Well done, Greta.

Why is she waiting to address the important issues? She had a great opportunity at the convention but instead took that opportunity to be an attack dog and say little of substance. I’m also concerned with the quality of the candidates’ experience, not just the quantity. So far, Palin is unimpressive, to put it nicely. By the way, when did it become traditional for the VP candidate to be an “attack dog?” I’ve been watching political conventions since 1956 and recall nothing along those lines.

How old are you, Michael? 12? 13? Come one, tell us.

So what?

I seriously doubt anyone is infringing on your right to worship so cut the drama. Freedom of religion means that everyone can worship as they choose, including choosing not to worship at all. If you are free to display your faith in public, so is everyone else. Got it?

Considering McCain’s age, we need to be very concerned with Palin’s experience. Lincoln had about as much experience as Obama when he ran for the presidency so get over it. It’s quality as much as quantity that’s important. And, Martin, you really need to lay off the childish name calling.

Did it ever occur to you that Whoopi made have been misinformed? Have you never made a mistake? There’s nothing deceptive about that, nor is it lying. And baseless accusations are never to be tolerated, no matter where they come from.

No, because she would deny others the right to choose.

You know, Jen, there’s as much corruption in small towns as in big cities. There are also many conservatives in big cities. And there is nothing wrong with being liberal. Palin has accomplished relatively little so making fun of Obama is not only a case of the pot calling the kettle black (pardon the pun) but very petty, mean, childish and unbecoming anyone who wants to represent the American people. And, yes, let’s stick to the issues. Palin has little or nothing to say on the issues. Where’s her plan for the economy? The war? Energy? Anything?

Sorry, Juliana, but the larger part of the hypocrisy remains in the McCain camp. They feel free to lie about Obama’s religious beliefs, which should never be an issue in a political campaign anyway, but demand that Palin’s personal life remain private. The Republicans want everyone to be empathetic and understanding about her daughter’s “poor decision” but these same people excoriate the Spears family for the same unfortunate choice. Frankly, if she can’t manage a 17 year old child, what makes you think she can manage a country? There is a lot of question about Palin’s decisions and behavior as Wasilla’s mayor and Alaska’s governor. The McCain camp harps on Obama’s experience when Palin’s is certainly no better and possibly worse. It’s very telling that you feel so self-righteous about “debunking” a “left wing lie” that is actually a small and relatively unimportant part of the whole story and could just possibly be a mistake, not a lie. What about her policies and practices as mayor? As governor? What about the investigation into her behavior in firing a state employee for not firing someone she disliked, a clear abuse of power? These are real concerns that need to be addressed and, so far, I’ve seen nothing to clear them up.

Your comments, Whoopi, are astute and well said. I agree that Ms. Palin is scary. And the outrageous hypocrisy spewed by the McCain camp is offensive, to say the least. Palin’s family matters are to be kept private but they can make ill-informed and snide remarks about Obama’s personal life with impunity? Not acceptable. I had hoped that we had two candidates who would run clean campaigns, addressing real issues and how they would deal with those issues, but, no, we still have the schoolyard sniping in full force and effect. I hope Obama can stay above the pettiness that has become an unfortunately substantial part of McCain’s campaign.