Yeah, I totally see where you're coming from, Carol. People that neither have the interest or the time to follow every nuance of every issue are very susceptible to the typical Republican game-plans of over-simplification and fear-mongering. That's why Obama's stance on the FISA bill didn't get me all wound up. My hope is that this time around, the failures of the past 8 years are just so obvious and glaring that the typical right-wing shtick and the gross incompetence of the MSM just won't matter.

Posted at July 4, 2008 10:29 PM in response to Obama: Mental Distress Shouldn't Qualify As Exception For Late-Term Abortion

Sigh...

Posted at July 4, 2008 9:14 PM in response to Obama: Mental Distress Shouldn't Qualify As Exception For Late-Term Abortion

Quayle was ridiculed for not correcting a spelling mistake made by someone else.

I believe you're incorrect - the student spelled "potato" correctly and Dan Quayle "corrected" it by placing an "e" at the end.

Posted at July 4, 2008 8:53 PM in response to Obama, I knew Dan Quayle, and you're no Dan Quayle!

Great post!

The problem is that this country has been lurched so far to the right since 1980 that no one - Obama or any other dream candidate is going to be able to undue overnight all of the damage that's been done. I would love a candidate who was going to ban handguns, legalize marijuana, take all of the funding from the war on drugs and put into treatment programs, and someone who is going to back the availability of free birth control in public schools. I also know it's not going to happen and I'm okay with that.

It's going to take a long time to get this country moving in the right(left) direction again and we need to be prepared that it's going to take a lot of small baby steps. This might entail - GASP! - the occassional compromise.

Posted at July 4, 2008 8:40 PM in response to Absolutism, The Far Left, and the Abandonment of Reason

I think the biggest problem with the MSM and their coverage of Obama is their lack of ability to see shades of gray in any issue. What attracted to me to Obama in the first place is his willingness to see the nuance in issues - unlike George "you're either with us or against us" W. Bush.

To me, I want a president who understands that not everything in this world is black and white. I understand that his aim is to have all troops out of Iraq in 16 months, but I also understand that his ability to follow that timeframe will be dictated by events on the ground. I understand he's pro-choice but I also understand if he believes that there should be limits to late-term abortions. Unfortunately, it's just easier for the MSM to scream "FLIP-FLOP!" and "He's moving to the middle!"

Posted at July 4, 2008 8:06 PM in response to Obama: Mental Distress Shouldn't Qualify As Exception For Late-Term Abortion

I may be wrong, but I don't believe that "late term" is really well-defined. I think it's generally accepted to mean past the point of viability which is I guess late 2nd trimester or early 3rd. I know that when I was pregnant with my twins a couple of years ago and we were discussing in utero testing, I seem to recall the perinatologist intimating that 24 weeks was kind of a threshold. That could vary from state-to-state, though.

I consider myself to be pretty rabidly pro-choice; however, I'm with you when it comes to third trimester abortions - I believe that they should be strictly limited to major health concerns. I hate to say that, though, because it implies that there are women out there who are choosing to have abortions in the third trimester for no good reason. Several of my pro-life co-workers used to spout off about how common partial birth abortions were and how women were choosing to have those done because they were too lazy to get abortions in the first trimester, etc. The rhetoric just gets to the point that it's ridiculous.

Posted at July 4, 2008 5:41 PM in response to Obama: Mental Distress Shouldn't Qualify As Exception For Late-Term Abortion

I can't wait for them to put a giant Virgin Mary static sticker on the back window of the Straight Talk Express.

ROFLMAO!!!

Posted at July 3, 2008 3:08 PM in response to New McCain Radio Ad Attacks Obama Over Hispanic Vote

Yeah, I kind of agree with you about the average Fox watcher not really caring. It's the same thing with the typical Limbaugh listener....they could give a crap that he's full of s**t.

Posted at July 3, 2008 3:03 PM in response to It's Like Fighting with a Pig

Can someone who is a member of this group answer a question for me? This is not meant to be snarky at all:

What do you expect to accomplish with this group? Do you hope that Obama will back off and agree to support the filibuster or vote against the bill? or are you just trying to get your voices heard?

Aren't you all putting Obama in a position where now he CAN'T change his mind because after all the teeth gnashing he will be seen as caving in to the netroots which will be eaten up and exploited by the right and the MSM?

I'm not looking for a fight on this issue as I understand people's frustrations. I myself am torn about this issue: I was disappointed in his stand, but I also understand why he's doing what he's doing. I guess I'm just trying to get a sense of where this movement is headed.

Posted at July 2, 2008 1:54 PM in response to Story Of Anti-FISA Group On Obama's Web Site Goes National

Do you have a source for your 17,000 number (other than any source related to Tom Tancredo)? That equates to 6,000,000 a year which is higher than other numbers I've seen.

Posted at July 2, 2008 1:36 PM in response to Poll: Obama Performing Better Among Hispanics Than Kerry Did