By the way, Margo, you may be my new absolute favorite political writer. I think that your honesty, intelligence and no holds barred TRUTHFULNESS is lowering my blood pressure - which was at the brink of boiling after watching Palin on ABC last night.

Great article on BJK!! She is such an inspiring woman. Hillary - Obama would have been so great for our country…and I was deeply disappointed by Obama’s decision not to ask Hillary to be his VP and have spent WAY too much mental energy trying to figure out why he didn’t. I only hope that we can all come together and get Obama in office — and hope that he redeems himself by appointing Hillary a Supreme Court Justice (when a seat opens) or some other high-ranking, long term position so that we can, as a nation, benefit from her wisdom. Otherwise, as a New Yorker, I hope she’ll stay in the Senate as long as Ted Kennedy. Of course, I’ll always keep hope that she somehow ends up President…I never count the Clinton’s out for long! Sen. McCain was all too clear on the type of Justices he would appoint on “The View” this morning. It was the first time I’ve watched the show in a couple of years - but I was really grateful for the intelligence and strength of Barbara Walters, Joy Behar and the wonderfully honest Whoopi Goldberg.

To anyone who is confused about the manipulation in the Republican Party, I gladly refer you to the following address: http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=184086&title=Sarah… I watched McCain on The View this morning and was stunned by the level of judgmental hatred he represents. Barbara, Joy and Whoopi were really terrific and nailed him a couple of times. If you need to catch a laugh about this (to take you away from your anger for a minute or two) please check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3-B7bLbzOM We actually wrote it BEFORE seeing Palin’s horrifying performance on ABC last night…we had no idea how close to reality we were! The earlier comparison to a high school cheerleader is right on…with a little bit of “pageant girl answering an important question” thrown in for good measure.

I could not agree more with you, Cynthia. I would only add that the education that I’ve received from my 11-yr. old son on a daily basis is a gift that I never would have imagined. It feels odd to be a very liberal minded person and not be able to easily counsel abortion, but after having my son, I completely feel the same way. Though I would never stand in her way or look down on this decision if she felt that for her, it was the best option. Recounting specific examples of each option that you’ve witnessed among acquaintances and friends in life and then listening with a loving and non-judgmental ear is the best gift you can give any young girl in such a situation.

I hoped that Palin would withdraw as well — but that would have involved a certain self awareness that I don’t think is there. I’ve just watched the “Evening News” portion of Gibson’s interview with Sarah Palin and I can’t believe that she’s worse that I’d envisioned. I really just couldn’t imagine that someone as unqualified as she is wouldn’t realize how seriously “in over her head” she was. I suppose that the truth is that those of us who take this country and its leadership seriously, would never dream of taking such an important job if we weren’t qualified. However, as Hugh Downs so eloquently put it in his collection of essays, “Perspectives,” America has unfortunately taken a drastic turn toward anti-intellectualism and fostered a “book learnin’ ruins the shootin’ eye” mentality. Sarah Palin is a textbook example of this and I hope that enough of us who care will turn out on election day.

Have just watched the Evening News portion of Gibson’s interview with Palin. I am truly stunned — expected that she wasn’t the brightest…had no idea it was so bad. We survived 4 yrs. of Dan Quayle being a heartbeat away from the Presidency…don’t think we need to tempt fate twice. And she mispronounces nuclear like Bush - “nyoo-culer.” Ugghhh… I am remembering a wonderful phrase used by the brilliant Hugh Downs in his intoxicating book of essays, “Perspectives” in relation to our country’s sad move away from intellectualism. He called it the “book learnin’ ruins the shootin’ eye mentality.” I’ve just seen a perfect example of that in Sarah Palin.

If you want to see - in stark reality - the double standards of the Republican party, this clip of John Stewart’s is the absolute best I’ve seen: http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=184086&title=Sarah… Palin’s slap at Hillary at the end is particularly sickening. I can’t imagine that American’s can’t see through this maddening group —

I agree with Liz about 2nd chances. Most of us wouldn’t want the mistakes of our 20’s to haunt the rest of our lives….and to have had those mistakes broadcast on every media outlet possible like Britney Spears did, would be nightmarish. So I humbly offer the following reading suggestion for Brit (and any others) who are looking for their 2nd, 3rd or whatever chance…. A few years ago…..before the whole “Branjolina” scene….I bought a small book by Angelina Jolie entitled “Notes from My Travels.” It was a remarkable journal of her initial travels for UNICEF. Her apology in the preface for not being a “real writer” was unnecessary and, actually, not warranted. I was deeply affected by Jolie’s vivid descriptions of the abject poverty she’d witnessed….and thought it inspiring that this child of Hollywood privilege had shown such an extraordinary act of personal responsibility in taking on this role with UNICEF. I’m always naively surprised that this jewel of a book is never mentioned in the myriad of articles about Angelina Jolie. If your eyes aren’t already opened to the truly important issues in life, this is a good jumpstart…and if they are, it will inspire you to take on a little more personal responsibility for humanity at whatever level you are able.

I never heard this term, either…but it sounds really creepy. My dad was a football coach - I hung out on the sidelines with him - the smell of those boys after a Friday night game in Georgia heat was enough to keep me away from them. Is that the same thing?

I’d rather write in Liz Smith for President! I, like many, knew virtually nothing about Sarah Palin when the announcement was made that John McCain had chosen her for his running mate. I am, admittedly, one of those “disillusioned Hillary voters” so often referred to in the press these days. There was only a small chance that I would vote for John McCain…not really enough to make a dent on the Richter scale, but I did plan to listen and give him a fair chance. My main concerns over Obama centered not on his “inexperience,” but rather, on his choice to cast a “present” vote on 129 separate occasions while serving in the Illinois State Senate. This, as many might know, is a rarely used option where a Senator may cast a vote of “present” rather than commit “yes” or “no.” When the option is taken, it is usually done so on a bill or issue that is considered somewhat controversial. I heard a pundit on CNN say that they felt that it was “smart politics” on Obama’s behalf…that he didn’t want any controversial vote coming back to haunt his future political plans. This concerned me greatly, because I’ve never had the luxury in my life of not committing to something. I’ve always had to decide Yes or No and accept the consequences. This is one of the things I have long admired about Senator Clinton, so Obama’s condemnation of her “bad decisions” always bothered me tremendously. At least she MADE decisions…which is what the job of Senator, State or U.S., is about. However, I began to read the New York Times and other articles about Sarah Palin the minute her nomination was announced. I withheld judgment for several days and finally realized that, although I grew up in the sticks of Georgia, lo and behold I am one of those “elite North Easterners!” Roughly translated, that means that I do research and form educated opinions about important issues. This type of person both annoys and terrifies the Republicans. If you watched their glazed expressions during the RNC, you’ll notice that they are like sheep, waiting to be told what to think. When I began to regale my Republican father with my concerns about Palin, he listened and then replied, “Ya’ll just spend way too much mental energy on these people. All you can do is cast your 1 vote. You are giving them so much of your energy and they don’t give a rip about you…none of them. So you and [my husband] need to just figure out who you’re voting for and get back to work on yourselves.” I had to admit that, for the most part, he was right. So my husband and I got to work on combining our concerns with what we both do, which is music, so we wrote a little tune for Mrs. Palin and joined the world of You Tube. Our song is called “Moose Shootin’ Blues” and you can see it at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3-B7bLbzOM So, instead of letting this anger and astonishment with Sen. McCain’s lack of concern for the future of this country and his apparent cave to the religious right paralyze me, I’m reaching across party lines, taking my 75 yr. old Republican Dad’s advice, voting for Obama and getting the message out in a more lighthearted, yet still direct way. I moved 1,000 miles away from home to get away from pageant girls who shot animals, hung them on the wall and called it “art.” I hope that people will seriously study the issues and think carefully this election….and I hope we’ll all be able to keep our sense of humor in the process!