Reading some of the comments on Andrew's TPM Cafe upgrade thread reminded me of my thoughts on Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama, and the general discourse within the Democratic Party.

We have apparently lost the Tracker feature, as well as some comment functionality with the new modules. And, as predictable, there were a few "No tracker? I'm outta here!" types of complaints.

It's that either/or type of decision that irks me. Because of one (or a few) features are no longer available, readers will move away from a site never to return. A site with great commentary, a site with good people, a site with plenty of potential. Nah, screw all that, we lost the Tracker. People would rather complain about the site and drop reading it.

The same thing is going on between Hillary and Barrack. Obama is surging in the polls. He's putting out some great speeches, and he's getting some amazing endorsements. He's definitely the driver for change (although, I still would rather have voted for Edwards).

But does that mean the vilification of Hillary is justified? Of course this is a political race, and only the best should rise to the top. Of course other national leaders will be just as hard-hitting in their criticism of the next American administration. But, are Democrats really about the either/or? If Barrack is good, then Hillary must be bad? Or, are we better than that?

Do Hillary rejectors really believe she is an evil woman? That she has not done anything positive? That she is a racist, sexist, opportunistic power-monger? That she's in the same league as George Bush?

Do we really need such negative hyperbole?

This is what I see in the Liberal blogosphere.

As much as I don't like some of Hillary's politics (including the vote to authorize military action in Iraq), I simply cannot see myself attacking her for the purpose of painting her a villain or Republican. She's still a Democrat, and the Democrats are supposedly the part of inclusion. Let's address Hillary and her campaign as informed conversationalists; not as Democratic Rovian wannabe hatchet-men.

And with the site... Yeah, I'm bummed we lost the Tracker functionality. There's plenty of other things to like about TPM Cafe, though. Read the excellent articles, reader posts, etc. Do what you can with the social aspects of the site. Voice your concerns, though. That's what webmasters are for. Just don't give up on it wholesale. It doesn't have to be an either/or decision.