The commenter above who suggested a McCain-Rice ticket obviously never read the book written by former CIA director Tenet, who was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  In July 2001, Tenet and his staff told National Security Adviser Rice and her deputy, Stephen Hadley, that Bin Laden's people would soon attack on US soil.  Rice did absolutely nothing about this warning and, of course, two months later, we were attacked.  Rice's refusal to act should have warranted her dismissal at a minimum and more likely an investigation for treason since her non-action gave aid and comfort to the enemy.  I hope McCain puts her on the ticket.

Change-different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone. So different right? I'm assuming that means unlike how the country has been controlled over the past few decades.  Whether we are Blue or Red I bet if you search within yourself you can find instances where our leaders behaved more like naughty, spoiled children then the decision makers we elected them ( and paid them) to be.  Someone to come fill our country and our heart's with hope and to understand the plight of the common person- you know the one's struggling to make ends meet , wanting to send their kids to a good school but at points having to choose between putting money in a  college fund  or filling up the heating oil again- Going to work everyday and doing the best they can but still never getting ahead only to find out that yes they lost another billion dollars but it's okay because we will keep making more so they will keep taking more. Americans should be outraged. Americans should DEMAND change, not just accept a carbon copy version of the same corrupted policy views and the same selfish ways that has helped this country dwindle until our hope has nearly diminished. Is Barack experienced? Not in the traditional way, but look where our traditional leaders have taken us so far. It is a breath of fresh air to have the opportunity to elect a leader that has not been bought, that has fresh ideas and that still believes in the American dream for every person regardless of whether they were born wealthy or poor. If you question what he is about educate yourself- read one of his books or listen to a full speech do not consider yourself elightened because you have watched an hour of news or read the local paper.  Then go vote and if you choose not to vote for him then that is your right- that is the American way and that fellow Americans is what Barack Obama stands for. As for me I will be voting for my American dream and helping in any way that I can to leave a strong , healthy  country and legacy for my children so I won't have to explain to them how I let myself be fooled into complaceny. I will proudly tell them that I wanted CHANGE.

mcCain flip flops like kerry did.we dont need another bush wacker again to run our country, sounds like he needs to take a vacation and head to vietnam for a rest mabey he can run that country and wink over there to those cong people.

There is a dwindling core of voters in this country who will never change, they will always live in a negative mindset.  John McCain speaks of his experience, sure he would be the oldest president in the history of this country if elected.  He has been in Washington and is nothing more than a warmongering Bushite.  He has embraced Bush, physically, and he has embraced all of Bush's policies and look where we are now.  IF the people want more of the same McCain is your guy.  

But, this is a new day in America and the people are standing up to the status quo, we want change and McCain does not represent change, he is sad actually.  I respect his service to our country, but he is out of touch with America.  

I believe we can change this country and finally we have a candidate in Obama who will engage the American people and empower them to step up and help change our country.  For all of you who don't want to give back and are willing to sit at home and let the government tell you what to do and when to do it then McCain is your man......GO OBAMA.....TEXAS WILL GO FOR OBAMA!!!!! "WASHINGTON IS A PLACE WHERE GOOD IDEAS GO TO DIE"  Obama is brilliant and he will be a great leader.  He has enough experience for me....

Regarding Michelle’s comment about being proud of her country and Cindy's attempts to parlay that into something negative: As a result of the 'Obamamentum' & opportunity to be a part of something, this is the first time a LOT of us (fe/male, black/white and everyone in between) have been proud to be American (let alone proud of our country).  In a country that has the history that ours does, regularly marginalizes soo many of us,  and is still run by the good ole boys -- and girls(!), I see this an a 'feel-good' moment for everyone: Michelle is NOT alone in those sentiments.  Besides, it'd be great to overcome our ridiculous way of racalizing each and every comment the other makes and engage in some real dialogue at some point.  Perhaps Cindy can come up with something all her own.  (It’s probably not a good idea start a sparring match with Michelle anyway.)

Wow, I had begun to worry if anyone was paying attention.Hello,Obama? Okay,inspiring speeches and words of hope and change no doubt the campaigning is down flat.Now the real guestions and concerns I have are, what are you going to do? how are you going to do it? and when??? Obama your time has not arrived be patient, learn and grow your time will come.As for Hillary, "the little engine that could", keep on pushing! John McCain,age means experience,and from what I've seen and heard, he is not afraid to say whats on his mind be it right or wrong and last but not least,McCain says something except the same old blah blah blah....GO McCAIN!      

I am a democrat that will be voting for Mccain if Hillary does not get the nomination. Hillary voters, want someone with a brain and a President that respects the American flag. Hillary voters for McCain

Angry, hate filled Republican rhetoric of nearly 50 years MAY (if wisdom prevails) come to an end.  FDR reminded a world swarming with tyrants we have "nothing to fear but fear itself."  JFK asked "what can you do for your country?" and along the way reformed his own policies to begin a change that may return to our country.  The day of having an AmeriCorps and Peace Corps as STRONG as the Marine Corps are at hand.  Becoming the change we wish to see in this world is at our fingertips...and no amount of Republical rhetoric will change this fact.  Or, we will get the government we deserve(ed) once again.  The foolishness will end only if we grasp hope versus hatred - period.

p.s.
For those non-veteran Republicans reading this, this  opinion is coming from a Second Generation United States Marine.  And do NOT expect my son to fight for EXXON, Cheney and company.  Send you own children...mine will be part of the change, not the charge to war.

obama has been in office for ten minutes...if he is president id rather live in canada.  he keeps saying change...but doesnt say how.  no straight answers.  the democratic party is doing nothing but puttin up a side show and focusing on race and gender instead of whats most important...whos best for the job. it isnt the time to cry about a woman and a black man. reverse racism goes untold in this.  81% of blacks vote for obama.  you cant tell they hate white people can you?  women vote for hillary because she is a woman.  grow up...this isnt about that.  who is best for the job to all the bleeding hearts out there...the answer is JOHN MCCAIN.  not some guy who has just as much experience in office as a 3rd grader.  if it came down to it id rather have hillary at least shes been in politics for longer than ten minutes...

Kimberly - John McCain is not a Christian, he is not a conservative, he is just like ronald reagan - a whoremonger with two living spouses (and there is absolutely nothing Christian about that - read your Bible and then tell me you think McCain is a Christian - he sure is not! Nancy Reagan and Cindy McCain are in the same league as Monica Lewinsky - they all sleep with another woman's husband on a nightly basis except for Nancy who obviousley can't sleep with Jane Wyman's husband anymore cause he is dead.  Sorry, folks I am a Christian, I do read my Bible and there is no room for folks with more than one living spouse in the King James Verison or Good News Version of the Bible I read.  Stop kidding yourselves, it is not about being conservative, it is about winning and it is about the rich getting richer (which is not a real pretty picture in my Bible either).  The game is up - you all have been found out.  Does not matter if McCain is 70, 80, or 90 he is just as much an adulterer as Bill Clinton when it comes to his marriage.

I dont call a person who dropped 54 loads of bombs on women and children a hero

Obama, a good talker, not sure what he's all about though. What is he really trying to say? What does he stand for?

Clinton, all she can do is put down others, especially the Bush administration. She avoids every question she's asked.

MaCain, he's definately the strongest candidate, but I'm not convinced yet.

I can't wait for the actual debates between the two party winners. Maybe then I will be able to understand and decide who I feel is best. It has nothing to do with party affiliation at all. For all of us it should be a choice of who we feel is the best for this country. Washington needs to get over themselves and work together to do what's right for the USA no mater who wins the election. Right now, they're in the process of destroying the best country in the world, by refusing to work together. Just what we don't need!!!!

By the way, the media has ruined just about everything in this country by their bias and spin. Grow up media, report and let us decide. Quit trying to force your beliefs on us... Just tell us the truth...we don't care what you think. You methods are so obvious even a 5th grader can see through them.

E - Grove City, PA

I'd just like to congratulate the media, Barack Obama and the Republican Party for demonstrating that you can fool all of the people some of the time.

It has been increasingly apparent to me as an outsider what has happened in this election.

Firstly, the media have been absolutely appalling in their cheerleading of Obama.  Fundamental questions about his character, for example his relationship with Rezko, are left unanswered. So-called analysts don't analyse his policies but instead sit in awe of his plagiarised rhetoric.  I listened to his speech this morning and felt the need for the sick bucket - how many clichés can this man get into one speech?

Secondly, it is quite clear that Obama has taken advantage of the caucus system to manoeuvre himself into the position he is in the first place.  Caucuses are not a democratic way of electing a candidate.  They disenfranchise those who have family and work commitments.  They are dominated by the fanatical who bully and guilt-trip individuals into voting for their candidate.   They are an affront to democracy.

Lastly, we have the Republicans, who must be laughing up their sleeves at how they have managed to get Obama as the democratic candidate.  It does not take an idiot to work out that, with the Republican contest tied up at the beginning of February, many Republicans have voted for Obama because they know that he is the easier candidate to beat come November.  That is not wishful thinking but the reality that the GOP will have no inhibitions about tearing Obama's character and policies to shreds.  They won't adopt a kid gloves strategy that the press have done so far.

I seriously believe that if Obama does become the democratic candidate then we are in danger of seeing a humiliation of the Democratic candidate not seen since McGovern.

If that does happen I believe there will be a root and branch reform of the nomination process within the Democratic Party.  What we have seen here is how the system can be manipulated and that the failsafe of Superdelegates does not work.  

My own view is that the Democratic candidate should be selected by Democratic Party members only, on a one member, one vote basis, nationwide without any Superdelegates.  At least then there would be no argument about who was the real choice of the Democratic Party.  The present system gives some individuals too much power, and some states too much power.  Another advantage of such a ballot would be an end to this nonsense of republicans/independents deciding the Democratic candidate.  It would also mean that candidates would have to campaign nationwide for every single vote not just in "states that matter".

It might also be a damn sight less expensive to run as a candidate as the campaign would be over a much shorter timescale than at present.

AM I THE ONLY PERSON IN THIS COUNTRY THAT REMEMBERS THE LAST 8 YEARS, PLEASE LISTEN TO THE IDEAS WITH SUBSTANCE.  BELIEVE ME, THE WOMEN IN THIS COUNTRY WHO HATE WAR HAVE NOT HAD THE LAST WORD YET.

i am a women who will also not vote for obama in the general election-mccain or a write in for hillary will take my vote and i will be switching to independent if hillary loses the nomination. No more donation checks from me

JJ..let me help you out on your question about what John Mccain stands for...

Whatever bush and the neonuts stand for...let me recap in case some of you have been asleep the past 7 years...the economy is not better now than it was 7 years ago...we are not any safer now than pre 9/11, we've just paid a lot of republican contributors to make it look like like we are...we were flat out lied to about Iraq, yes bush lied to us about the reason we went into Iraq...I could go on and on but frankly you would have to be stupid not to see what mccain is likely to do to our country...ruin it

I didn't really know anything about Senator Obama's record until last night on "Hardball".  Chris Matthews directly asked Obama's representative what Obama has accomplished as a Senator.  The "rep" danced all around it.  Matthews held him to answer the question and the "rep" couldn't do it.  So, if
the american people think Washington is broken and are not doing anything worth while I guess electing
Obama fits the bill perfectly.  On the other hand
Obama may just be that rare gem of a President.  He
is intellegent and I doubt very seriously that he
would sacrifice the security of the U.S. regardless of religion.  John McCain is a decorated "Nam POW" and a veteran.  Is he tough?  You bet he is and he
will serve the country regardless of his party.
Just my two cents worth.  Happy Choosing!!!!  

I wish the sheep of this country wouldn't blindly follow Obama.  It's truly a shame.

Someone above said that Americans are "savvy"....Some, yes, but most are morons.  

It is difficult to understand how people can say that Obama has no substantive ideas.  His platform is spelled out very clearly on his website and his speeches routinely reference his policies and distinctions between himself and Senators Clinton and McCain. The empty attacks on Senator Obama are disheartening to me and, if Senator Clinton gets the nomination, I will be voting for a republican for the first time in my life.

Come on America - wake up!!  I have yet to hear detailed solutions that Obama has to back his "Yes We Can".  You should not forget he can't do this alone.  Every bill has to be passed by the House and the Senate.  He's a junior senator with no experience of running anything.  I will be voting for Ron Paul.  Be careful what you wish for; you just might get it.

Don't Obama supporters realize yet that they are the racist ones?  Statistics are showing that Whites are voting in almost equal proportion for Clinton and Obama while Black voters are voting 80% for Obama. Stop throwing that racism card, racist!

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