The competition for the Democratic nomination has become increasingly bitter. No matter who you think is at fault, you can be sure that there are people who support the other candidate who believe the same thing about your candidate.

I'm beginning to wonder if we've passed the point where either candidate can heal the wounds and hard feelings of the other side after being nominated. If not, the nomination may be a prize not worth winning. I know that the blogosphere is not representative of Democratic voters in general. But I've seen increasing numbers of comments on varying blogs that say "If X is the nominee there's no way I'll for Y. I'll vote for McCain first (or not vote, or write in X).

One thing we have learned from the recent unpleasantness (if we didn't already know it) is that there are still people in this country who are not willing to vote for an African American for president, and some of them are Democrats. There are undoubtedly people who feel the same way about voting for a woman.

If the Democratic Party is not united behind whoever our nominee is, we're going to lose. I think putting John McCain in the White House would be a disaster for not only the Democratic Party, but the country.

In the days before the delegates were chosen directly by voters, when a party could not coalesce around a single candidate, it was possible for party leaders to do whatever it took to get a candidate, even if it meant nominating a dark horse who wasn't one of the leading candidates.

I don't know if that could even be done today. One, I don't know if there would be a candidate that both Obama and Clinton would enthusiastically support, and I don't know if the voters would accept the legitimacy of a nominee who few if any voted for in the primaries.

I don't have any answers to the situation. I am increasingly concerned about the increasingly harsh words that are being spoken on behalf of the two candidates and what it may portend for the general election.