McCain’s defeat was not about his chronological age, but about the age of his perspective and ideology. He is and remains a cold war warrior; many people in this country believe that we need to move on. In addition, McCain was running in the context of Bush’s failed policies. Not a winning combination. Human beings are always competing for limited resources; it is the nature of life. And because of that there will always be “isms”. My vote goes to the individual that appears to have the best ideas, management style and work ethic, that gives us the best chance for success. Labels aren’t helpful.

Fox? Fur? Did I read that right? Fox? Are you kidding me? Sorry, but that is disgusting. Even if I had money like yours, Mary, I wouldn’t buy that stuff! I am with Mo-when kids are going to bed hungry and cold, I can’t get too excited about designer duds. And I have to agree with Carol, this is another example of a thread that has no relevance or interest for me.

Liza, There is a general sense of letdown, now that the “big decision” is made. And I agree that it is mixed with an apprehension about the state of our economy and our world. It is not entirely comfortable. Before the election, we had hope to buoy us up, but now we are all confronted with the reality of how diificult the road may be. I hope that hope is enough to keep us all going.

the prairie wind makes strip mining unnecessary, since all it would take would be wind turbines and a receptive and transmissive electric grid to carry it to where it is needed. the sun also shines there.

if you have money to spend willy-nilly, help out some of us who don’t.

Now there are some talented, intelligent and gorgeous women. I read that Judi Dench loves her new hair color for the pic. Can’t wait to see this.

phyllis, Don’t you love Huffpo? Thanks for the links.

If by a “star” you mean something that shines brightly from a distance, but up close is hard, cold and without animate characteristics, then I agree, Palin is a star. I suppose you could say that women in politics have been advanced to the extent that, evidently, some portion of the country is willing to accept someone without apparent qualifications or abilities to govern the country, regardless of gender. Maybe we are looking at the wrong issue; perhaps we should be talking about the quality of our leaders, rather than their gender.

Lady Gator, It seems as though you just don’t get it. My objection to Palin, has to do with her politics and her lack of qualifications for the job, nothing to do with her being or not being a woman. And considering her extreme religious views I hardly think she represents more than a very small minority of women, witness the overwhelming rejection of her as a legitimate candidate by the very diverse group here at WOW. She isn’t even in the same universe as Hillary Clinton, let along the same league.

mary lou, You are so right. They pandered to the base, while not “wasting” one of their vaunted future front-runners (ie Romney, Ridge, Pawlenty, Jindahl), in an election the insiders knew was very likely a losing cause. And they counted on many of the far-right faithful to jump on the cultural bandwagon, without asking many questions about whether Palin was qualified. They could care less about Palin or her “political future”, none of the political commentators have the courage to say it aloud. Shameful, but that is cynicism at it’s worst.

I am sorry to hear of the loss of Michael Crichton. I have always enjoyed his writing, which was intelligent and often stretched the imagination.

I echo other’s thoughts; thank you for the company on this historic journey and I value everyone that I have encountered here at WOW. A new day tomorrow for all of us and for the country.

countrywoman, How cool is this? Yes we can!!! How is Gordon Smith doing up your way?

You rock Deni-take care!

Deni- Uh-hmm, nice work. Precisely!