http://richardtgarner.blogspot.com/2009/07/pali...

I think you're probably a better person than me too, if you can withhold your tongue like that and be graceful in your comments!

By the way: your comment about “another female politician”… I knew what you meant (and it was pretty clear from your overall tone). But thanks for the clarification.

At any rate, I'm still against the idea, predator or not, because it is cruel. Now having said that… I understand sport hunting and while I would not participate in it, I think it's fine if people do sport hunt (I can hear a lot of people on here groan at that….). But cruelty to animals should be banned whatever the circumstance.

From the article: “The tension in the state between those who object to aerial shooting of wolves on moral grounds (the concept of “fair chase” doesn't exist in predator control) and those who want to limit these predators so hunters will have plentiful targets, has given rise to frequent changes in the law.”

Thanks again, pacatue! It does explain why some people might think it's fair to control “predators”, but I still think it's cruel.

Palin is over her head bigtime— maybe she thought the campaign was going to be about looking good in red suits and giving rousing speeches to adoring crowds.

I lost a lot of respect for McCain after that cynical pick. There must be a 1000 more qualified Republicans to pick from. And if he really were going to buck the Washington establishment he would have gone with his own favorites— Sen Lieberman or Governor Ridge. This just tells me he's not a strong enough leader within his own party and was forced into an incredibly foolish compromise.

I was just going to say that I wouldn't want to be the person triaging Parker's email box today. It probably looks something like Lieberman's after the RNC.

Palin could very well be VP and then P if something happens to McCain. in such a position Palin would not hesitate in trampling over the beliefs of a hundred and fifty million people (assuming McCain/Palin gets roughly half the support in the country) to pursue her own agenda.

So I'm sorry but Palin doesn't get any free pass or sympathy from me. She's never showed any compassion herself, including in the sport hunting of animals from helicopters, where they are literally run into the ground from exhaustion and then killed. If Palin were a compassionate person, had tried to run Alaska with integrity and if she had gotten into this mess because McCain wanted to use her, then I would feel sorry for her.

- I understand perfectly about your family. My husband's family will never vote for an African-American – no matter who they are running against. When you talk about Obama they bring up David Dinkins– as evidence that a black man can't be trusted to run anything.They know they are prejudiced — but don't care. Its sad– but that's just how it is.

Batony- Yes voters felt that Bill Clinton understood what they were going through– but he lacked the ability to function in Washington and didn't have much foreign policy experience.That accounts for key missteps that he made in his first 2 years in office.

He was a quick learner and did have some great people around him. Even so, he might not be the best choice in the current situation we face if he were running for the first time.

I think you should vote on the issues and a candidate's competence more than their personality- or whether you think they're likeable. I actually supported Hillary Clinton- but have switched to Obama because they have the same voting record- and I think he has run his campaign brilliantly. The choice of Biden over Palin is one where I think he used judgment that was superior to McCain's. McCain also has made very rash statements in the past few days (like firing Cox) that make me question his judgment in other areas.

However people vote for who they like. Unfortunately for Obama, for all he talks he is going to do , there is not enough evidence that he is going to be anything special. And for someone like me who sees right through the BS on both sides, and with the media, I am really not impress with the guy.