Pat, the issue is not only how will the blacks react if Obama loses, lets not forget the young people, and people like me: A 50 year old white man!

I have had enough of Washington D.C. and everything that George Bush has done has been nothing but disgusting.

Then to have McCain, who only has three things going for him: He was a POW, He believes he deserves the Presidency, and he is "safe" in the sense that he is not an unknown and he is not a newcomer, and he is not black.

Sorry, all of the things he has going for him has gotten this country in the mess that it is in. I cannot tolerate our debt levels, I cannot tolerate fighting wars for no reason, I cannot tolerate that lobbyists dictate our laws...

If Obama can change something then he will be a success. I personally am tired of watching our country go the way of Rome....

Pat. You sound like a shrill alarmist. Quoting a single black preacher such as you did, and most likely out of context, demonstrates to me, again, that since the right offers little substance and vision to the American people in its positions on issues of great importance, (certainly they can't stand on their track record of the last 8 years) it will resort to using scare tactics and innuendo on the populace and character assassination on their opponents. They are very good at getting people to vote against their own personal well being and the good of our country. They would like us to overlook the horrendous job of republican leadership over the last 8 years. Yesterday I heard a radio commercial, approved by John McCain, in which the announcer said that Obama's plan for the economy will result in a disaster. HELLO...what do you call the wall street lending crisis, the bailout of Freddie Mac and Fanny Mae, bank failures, declining home values, rising unemployment, rising inflation, a major US city still in ruins, 40 million uninsured by healthcare, $4 per gallon gas, rising food prices, inflation, devaluation of the dollar overseas, the meltdown of Detroit, and billions of dollars per month going to an occupation (where are the WMDs?) of a country that wants us out!? The disaster is already here and was created by the republicans. And they want another 4 more years? I am registered as an independent. Their scare tactics won't work on me. The republicans have failed miserably and I am firing them, as any sensible person would do. I will vote for Obama.

What Pat has written seems very reasonable, though of course what is judged to be reasonable depends very much on background assumptions and attitudes. As a college teacher of English, I have worried for more than forty years about the way that the English language is commonly misused. When I first heard Senator Obama, I was struck by a new rhetorical style, and I found it interesting and exciting. There were many millions of Americans, and people in other countries too, who felt the same kind of thing. But when the same patterns are repeated, time after time, one starts seeing them AS patterns. When in the spectacular Denver setting Senator Obama declared that the whole campaign was "not about ME," an objective observer would really need to protest, that in fact the campaign had indeed been about "ME." I have not been a regular visitor to this site, and would like to regard myself as a neutral commentator. On this particular night, I was browsing because of interest created by the selection of Governor Palin as a running mate--and the virtually immediate attacks on her for lack of experience and proper qualifications to be "a heartbeat away" from the presidency. What is to my mind very interesting about this whole issue is that to my knowledge the presidency and vice-presidency are political offices and thus do not have ANY specific academic or intellectual or scholarly requirements.

What you don't get, Pat, is that the country is already in real trouble. Real, unprecedented trouble. Both campaigns represent a certain amount of desperation in light of that. ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
What you also don't seem to get is that there two kinds of pathways to doom. There are the ones that are fast and furious, like the scenario you want to postulate now or the kind the Republicans traditionally hawk with their war mongering, scare tactics, and subliminal race baiting. ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Then there are the more insidious pathways. These are the ones that are actually doing us in. Guess which kind we've been on for the last 8 years?

Bless you Carl. There is a lot of fiddling going on right now, the flames are rising, and the hour grows late. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

To change the subject however, I ask you, Pat, to cease and desist from this obligatory pandering and return to a subject on which you have been absolutely brilliant: Russia and Georgia. .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

What we need from you on this issue, Pat, is exquisite detail on what exactly Georgia did to precipitate the Russian reaction. It appears from commentary by you and precious few others that Georgia waged war on innocent folks, war crime style, and of course, Russia lunged at the opportunity to reciprocate times ten. However, essential details are lacking about Georgia's first move, and they are desperately needed. ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Do it for journalism, Pat. It's a rare commodity these days.