Like Jazz said, “…you'll find that seeing opposing opinions once in a while doesn't cause brain cancer. Give it a shot.”

Debate can be a healthy, it makes you examine your position and unless you're too stupid, suborn, or partisan it may even make help you see flaws in your original position.

Time will tell how much Biden helps–or hurts. But is the possibility that he might help so far out there as to be non-existent?

All I'm suggesting is that Biden might not be a slam-dunk through John McCain's hoop.

-With seniors.

-With working-class white people.

-With Catholics.

-With Pennsylvanians.

-With Floridians.

-Also with several high-ranking, independent-thinking elected Republicans.

Could be others?

He blasts McCain for months on end about voting for the Iraq war in the first place and supporting the surge, saying that was proof of his own superior judgment. Then he turns around and picks a running mate who voted for the war and supported the surge! Hello? Is this thing on? (*taps on microphone*)

And I don't know if Obama is really walking around thinking he's already got this election sewn up or not, but IMO, it looks to be a pretty close horse race to me. Can he really afford a “loose lips sink ships” guy going out on the trail with him and having a brand new Macaca Moment for the Democrats? Biden better reign in that sense of humor before he starts stereotyping Indian Americans as all working at the Quickie-Mart and the Donut Haus before he winds up putting a torpedo in the side of Obama's ship.

I'm sure everyone knows that the lobbying company owned by McCain's senior foreign policy adviser got paid $200,000 by the government of Georgia the very day McCain placed a telephone call to the President of Georgia.

I think you make many good points, but I don't think the situation is as dire as you think, Jazz.

Lefty talk radio here in Detroit metro is something I listen to more than to the righties. (Or I go from lefty AM to NPR, which is also very leftish, obviously.) Anyone who does this can “see” beyond the frequent illogic and emotion-driven behavior so common on the Left and can hear other views, sometimes hear news you didn't get from other, less-politically-driven-and-opinionated, sources. Some of the shows are obviously better than others (Stephanie Miller's show has always been childish and silly, for example, and has descended in the past two years to being an FM-style juvenile shock-jock, always-thinking-falsely-we're-comedians, kind of show that sadly emphazises Miller's frequent dippiness. But, others' shows are better — Bill Press, Thom Hartmann, even loud-mouth Ed Schultz, Rachel Maddow, etc. There's plenty far left stuff on there but the shows are more broadly-based now.)

http://www.1310wdtw.com/main.html

http://www.billpress.com/

http://www.thomhartmann.com/

http://www.bigeddieradio.com/

http://www.rachelmaddow.com/

And in addition to the broadening of the field that underlies the recent success instead of failure of leftist talk radio, there is something else people can infer from this unless they don't realize it as it stares them in the face. The far left is a fringe in this country. But less far to the left is not so. With all the liberal media already established, liberal opinion talk radio has been tried since at least the early 1990s (Mario Cuomo had a show, to name one example) and failed spectactularly. But the shows are currently doing well enough there are numerous shows here in Detroit, meaning they're presumably, finally, for a change, doing well, getting airplay nation-wide. People should be asking why this is so? Does this constitute a barometer of current public opinion, not just anti-Bush, but anti-GOP or express what we've seen, that the GOP and also conservatism in the USA is currently aimless or driftless and not offensive to most, but largely unappealing? Just a thought. It may not be permanent or always at this “rate,” but it probably is descriptive and indicative of _something_ at least since, say, the 1996 elections.

http://pewresearch.org/pubs/933/a-closer-look-a...

Also, GOP strategists love to paint their candidate as the salt of the earth regular guys, while defining Democrats as elitists who “know whats best for you and me”. They were very successful at doing that with John Kerry, and could easily peg Obama the same way. But, Biden, though wordy, is a regular guy, who can help with union employees and the white working class.

I accept criticism all the time, but disagreeing with me is different than flat out lying by saying that your opinion is fact and my opinion is incorrect. They are all opinions.

And apparently, to some of our friends on the far left, anything which does not frame itself clearly as a cheerleading article for any decision made by a Democrat is now “taking the low road”? Give me a break. I said nothing to attack Biden in the article. I simply pointed out aspects of his political history which make him an easy target for detractors, make Obama look either hypcritical or delusional in picking him, and that it was a boneheaded choice in my opinion for all of the reasons listed. Believe it or not, this is not an entirely left wing, pro-Obama site. You find opinions here from all over the spectrum. And assertions that anyone else in the blogosphere who may have more conservative views (e.g. Ed Morrissey) is automatically an evil, war mongering Rethuglican who hates America, puppies, gays minorities and poor people is more of the ignorance you encounter out on those internets every day. There are some excellent (and not very good) writers from all across the spectrum. While I don't count myself in that exclusive club, Morrissey and Rick Moran are two examples of definitely partisan, but very talented writers with strong opinions of their own and the ability to explain those opinions well. If you pull your head out of the echo chamber for a few minutes, you'll find that seeing opposing opinions once in a while doesn't cause brain cancer. Give it a shot.