Nor have we ever seen any candidate, man or woman, respond to these accusations with the poise and dignity demonstrated by Sen. Obama. We quite clearly see the difference in the character of the two democratic candidates.

I can't wait to call him President Obama.

You hit the perfect note - thank you. Your last line bucked me up.

After watching last night, I bounced btw feeling that this country is totally f****d if this is what our process has sunk to -- to feeling we deserve to be f****d if this is the misguided and useless way we batter good and dedicated public servants who think highly enough of the electorate to try to address the dire issues we face -- to realizing what we have to do in November to begin to slowly and painfully reclaim any semblance of the best parts of this country.

I just keep thinking of all the social scientists who warned that a lazy media is the first casualty of a dying democracy. If not for new media and technology we'd be thoroughly screwed indeed.

Oddly though - although your theme and long list is disturbing, it's encouraging in a twisted way b/c it serves as a reminder of all he's survived and still managed to thrive somehow.

Sigh. Another goddamn the media post.

Look, the moderating was atrocious. This was by far the worst debate of the season.

But Obama really did look like crap. I don't need the media to tell me that. His delivery was clumsy. His message was garbled. He could have answered the idiotic questions curtly and then gone on to speak about what he wanted to. Instead, he spoke defensively and let the moderators push him around. When he pushed back, he came off as peevish when he should have been incensed. There are times when a little Bill Clintonian anger comes in handy.

Obama can bitch about the moderation as much as he likes, and rightfully so, but the media is not all powerful. Obama had the podium at that debate, and no one had the power to force him to play the game. Reagan was adept at turning debates away from his policy weaknesses and towards his oratorical strengths. Obama is the master of his own destiny.

Hillary has thought through a run from president with organized policy driven ambitions. It shows in her ability to respond to questions, even question that allude to the fallacy that changing one's mind is somehow never good. The only people I know who don't change their mind when they examine new or different data are despots and dogmatists. Barack needs to get past his victim status. If you admire Hitler, it should be okay to ask why? If you hang out with Wright and call him a mentor, it makes sense to see if his world views have rubbed off. If you make "boneheaded" decisions about your house purchase --- can you be trusted to negotiate world matters behind closed doors. We all defend "our candidates" cuz we don't want to see them bleeding, but the fact is when you are running for office, you need to answer questions that potentially can influence your view. If we are so set on our candidate that nothing matters anymore, then we should understand our own psychology enough to see that what we are whining about is ourselves and the extension of ourselves that have become our candidate. This election is a study of many things- race, values, gender, age, and party. It is also a study in sociology and psychology that is not very fascinating at all.

WOULD ANYONE RUN FOR OFFICE IF THEY COULD SEE THE FUTURE? I DOUBT IT. TO BE PUT THROUGH THE ENDLESS DIGGING AND MUD SLINGING AND TO STILL WANT TO SERVE IS A CREDIT TO ANYONE WHO COULD BE MAKING A GREAT LIVING ELSEWHERE.

He got beat? Was this even a contest? Where was the actual competition between Obama and Clinton? That's what I just don;t understand about these things. How do you declare a winner in a situation where the candidates aren't really competing with each other , and where it's really 3 (well 4, if you count Hannity) against 1?

There was no contest here. It was "let's get together and rough up Obama and don't let him respond too much night" on ABC. As a debate it was a complete and utter fraud.

It's fine to get tougher on Obama, but do it on things like his plan for Iraq, or the economy, or healthcare. This other stuff is horse**t.

A trifle overwrought, I'd say. Look, I would agree that Gibson and Stephanopolous conducted themselves abominably the other night. However, the examples you cite of things you learned from the media are really examples from the fringe and far right websites - looks like you're spending too much time in the blogosphere. In fairness, were you also as concerned with the constant barrage of Hillary hatred on supposedly Democratic forums like this one? And while we're at it, did you think the media should have gone harder on GWB for his alleged cocaine use, evasion of military service, etc. In other words, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Am I the only one who thought he did a great job? I'll admit I only tuned in at 8:40, but what I saw looked great--he, unlike the rest of the fools on stage, tried to keep the tone civil and the content elevated.

I'd be glad to hear whether there is anyone else out there in the blogosphere who was pleased by the debate...

"Obama can bitch about the moderation as much as he likes, and rightfully so, but the media is not all powerful. "

Obama isn't "bitching" about the moderation but about the trivia, sleaze and non-issues.

The same garbage distractions which torpedoed Gore and got that fun to have a beer with guy elected.

Now we have 4000 dead in Iraq.

So to say the media's complete and total idiocy isn't important is flat out wrong.

-Economic meltdown
-Global warming meltdown
-Endless quamire in Iraq
-US reputation in the gutter

I'd say elections matter and election coverage matters. I'm just sick of the media trying to ruin yet another one with their skewed pro-GOP bs. MCCain: salt of the earth, foreign policy "expert", straight shooting honest maverick, vs. Hamas-linked black pantehr elite.

ABC's rightwing talking points are wrong and they should loudly be castigated for it. And they are.

Ahhh.. don't worry about 'bama. He willl be fine and he will rise again and be victorious in November. Look, this chap performs best when his back is against the wall. He has that Mohammed Ali style which allows him to weave his way away from the ropes and deliver those very smooth upper cuts which shock the opponent to the floor.

Take a look back and see that in everyone of his bad moments he has been able to weave away from the down side of things and come out almost unscathed. This is where his strength of victory lies... in his ability to create positive things from those bad moments and soar. He literally soars above the crap.

So naaaaaaah.. don't worry about Obama. He will be just fine and is doing well.

Cheers

Oh Tisha... No point in crying for Hillary anymore. Her days are over. She missed her moment four years ago. She should have contended against GWB instead of Kerry. Instead she thought she would choose the easier path to the house. Unfortunately she ran up against a brick wall.. one she never expected.. never dreamt of in her wildest dreams in Bosnia.

Her moment has passed.. I am sorry. Feel free to go ahead and support Obama.. it will ease the pain. Trust me!