This has been the ugliest primary campaign I've ever seen, so I'm not surprised at that statistic.

I've never seen so much hatred between two camps that are both in the same party. Not so much Hillary and Obama, but Hillary's people and Obama's people. They each know that in a few months there's a good chance they'll be looking for work.

Some, not all by any means, would not vote for a black candidate. Plenty would go to McCain due to racial bias against Obama, but few would have the stones to admit it. They'll use just about any excuse such as the preacher flap, his middle name, etc.

No person with an ounce of intelligence should decry that Obama is a Muslim after the controversy with his Christian preacher.

Why anyone would vote for Bush's puppet in terms of the economic and war policies is beyond me. How can we take a risk on a 2nd president within the generation (Reagan being the 1st) who might get Alzheimers? I wouldn't vote any 72 year old for president, which is the age McCain would be when taking office, regardless of their political party.

It's quite interesting how people throw around the term "hate" or "hatred." I don't think I've ever felt hate, but that's probably because I have a high threshhold for that experience.

Our knowlege of candidates is pretty much limited to what we are exposed to through the media. Since that exposure is not to their emotions, I find interpretations of hatred to be quite a leap. On the other hand, there are Board members who post expressions of hatred and actually use the word or forms of it.

Everyone is getting his or her panties in a wad over al these polls, but the fact is the Dems still don't have a nominee, and it is a long way till November. Who knows what the issues will be by then.

McCain's less than stellar performance during his overseas trip, during which he made numerous misstatements show him either to be less than truthful or more likely show that he may not be able to handle the rigors of the job at his age. Aside from his cancer, the hell he was put through for 5 years as a POW, and all the problems that left him with may have taken a serious toll, and while the early 70's are not by any means as "old" as they used to be, McCain's particular physical nd mental state may well become a defining issue.

I hate you.

If that means that 80% of them will stick with the nominee, count on a Democratic landslide in November.

I'm not denigrating the aged. I am grateful to McCain for his service in the military and am sorry that he was a POW. But there are plenty of other jobs I would want him, or someone of that age, to hold instead of leader of the free world.

Give the guy credit, he somehow attracted a good looking, trophy wife.

I did not mean to denigrate McCain in any way. He is a real hero, and a man of great courage who loves his country. I just don't want him to be president.

From what I've seen MANY Clinton supporters are hyperbolic, racist-leaning extremists, or extreme hard-core feminists of the 'either a woman or nobody else' type. Obama supporters seem more reasonable and would rather hold their nose and vote for Clinton than have McBush. And yet WE are the ones called a 'cult'.

McBush. I love it.

We gotta get Hillary and Obama to start referring to McCain as that.

Very astute observation. It is along ay to November - an eternity in the political realm. For me age is not a factor. McCain is just 12 years older than me and I think I'd make a great President. We've had much younger Presidentsand many of you might not consider them to have particularly effective.

Instead of denigrating our Nation's political process, one should revel in it. It is a robust display of what the Founding Fathers had in mind. It is dynamic and creative. It is a vetting and filtering process.

I didn't mean to imply that was your intention Dontomasso - my apologies. Your summation is exactly how I feel about McCain.

My mother moved in with us at the age of 70. At that time, she was taking one medication for her high blood pressure and managing her diabetes with diet. Otherwise, she was in good health, quite active, and loved to travel. In the 11 years since, she had a heart attack, a triple bypass, a stent in her heart, bypass and a stent for an abdominal aneurysm and a bypass into the legs to improve circulation. She's now on two medications for her heart, one for diabetes, two for her pressure, and one for her cholesterol. She's also suffered a hearing loss and has trouble walking long distances without a walker. In other words, she got OLD. I would hate to think that she had these health problems while trying to run the country. It's absurd to think that she would be up to the stress and long hours necessary.

It's pretty much common knowledge that "W" takes naps on a regular basis. And he is a good 10 years younger than McBush.

Boy, I've been so away from political news the last couple weeks, do to a family crisis, so I'm a little out of it. However, I do agree from all the blogs/opinions I've read that the Hillary supporters are unbendable, whereas the Obama supporters will vote for Hillary should she get the nomination. However, personally, although I think she's capable, I'm disappointed and perhaps "seeing the light" on some of Hillary's tactics and I think others are as well.

TIS

It's called politics, TIS. Don't be fooled. Obama uses them too. His speech about race was simply strategic. Besides it's obvious intent to diffuse the furor over Wright's comments, it was intended to do so by expanding the scope of the discussion and thus divert our attention from those comments.

Also, keep in mind that Obama refers to himself as black. Well, why doesn't he refer to himself as white? In fact, by the numbers, his daughters are more black than he is. He does it for political reasons. He's figured that he can't deny any of his blackness, so why not take advantage of it. Pure poitics.

He has his reasons, agree with them or not or call them political, but they are logical and haven't wavered throughout his career despite the heat:

Obama: "The reason that I've always been comfortable with that description is not a denial of my mother's side of the family," he told the New York Times.

"Rather, it's just a belief that the term African-American is by definition a hybrid term. African-Americans are a hybrid people. We're mingled with African culture and Native American culture and European culture."


And I remember his Democratic Convention speech where he said "I stand here today grateful for the diversity of my heritage." Which speaks for most of us, very few of us here have pure Mayflower lineage, or pure anything.

Even McBush sees that his age has limitations. He has been quoted saying he would only serve one term.

In that case, what's with Italian-Americans?

Are you American, or are you Italian? You can't have it both ways, for this aint the goddamn lunch special.

Me? I'm American.

First, learn your terms. Italian can refer to an ethnicity or a nationality. As an Italian-American, I use it as an ethnicity. Africa is a continent. It is neither an ethnicity nor a nationality.

Think about it. I'm an American who is 100% ethnic Italian. Therefore, I am Italian-American. If I choose to classify myself racially, then I am 100% Caucasion-American. In either case, I do not classify myself by continent.

Obama's characterization of himself is racial although he expresses it as continental (African). I do not classify myself as a Europeon-American; it is more correct for him to classify himself as Black-American. However, in either case, he's left out his caucasian genetics which constitutes 50% of his entire racial genetics.

In addition, his father is from Kenya. That's a nation; it is not a continent nor an ethnicity. As I classify myself as an Italian-American, he should more correctly classify himself as a Kenyan-American. However, that still ignores his caucasion genetics.

As I pointed out in a previous post, his daugthers are more black than he is: 50% black from their mother and 25% black from their father. Thus, while Obama is only 50% black, his daughters are 75% black.

You know that there is no such thing as "race," right? There are only ethnicities.

You are confusing with "Nationalities" or something that is cultural-labeled, and not simply something based on the color of your skins or what not. With your argument, "Poles" are a "race"...and they are not.

Italians/Poles/Chinese = Nationalities
Black/Caucasian/Latino = Ethnicities

As for you being obviously bothered by something who considers themselves black instead of white....

Look at me. I'm from south Florida, which is Northern yankee-influenced politics, i.e. Liberals....yet I identify myself with the "South" in East Tennessee. Should you be upset that I feel more connected with my fellow rednecks than Floridians?

Then again, with the recent lousy play of the Dolphins/Panthers/Marlins/Heat....can you blame me for being so embarrased?

Better yet, that my soul is more richly in clique with the "ancient homeland" of say Scotland and Poland, than it is for Ireland and Germany? (Which I am genetically connected to as well.)

Some people pick to identify themselves with a certain tribe than others for different reasons. God knows that doesn't bother me as much as a First Lady using school readings and tea parties at the White House as criteria for "experience."

No one on the planet is 100% anything. There are just various shadings and groupings. In America it is usual custom for anyone with "visual" or "discernible" "African" heritage to identify as or be identified as "Black" or lately "African-American". Other countries or societies could look at the same person and reach an entirely different conclusion.

Obama never had the "choice" to identify as "white" and if he tried to do so most Americans would think he's lost his mind.

As an aside, as late as the 1940's it was still a question in America as to whether Italians (especially Southern Italians) were really "white". So again, much of these designations are social constructions, not biological realities.

Obama is fortunate in that unlike the overwhelming majority of Black Americans he can indeed identify a specific region and country of origin on the continent.

As far as the racial heritage of his daughters let's get real. It's exceedingly unlikely that Michelle Obama is 100% Black just as it was unlikely that Barack Obama's mother was 100% White. These terms are just shorthand for other things. Bottom line is that Barack Obama self-identifies as a biracial Black man. As he said repeatedly in various venues it's not about denying his mother or her family.

Determining what someone else should identify as is pretty dangerous. In America "African-American" can include everyone from Jennifer Beals or Halle Berry to Henry Louis Gates (who is likely 50% Caucasian by his reckoning).

Really? Then he is just wasting his time and our time if he is intent on being a one-termer. Candidates start running at the midterm elections for president, so he'll be a lame duck (if elected) by 2010. What incentive would Congress have to implement many of his policy proposals?

I don't doubt your statement Saladbar, but I find it incredibly difficult to believe McBush is that stupid to announce one term is his only goal.

That brings my tally to reason #692 not to vote for McBush.

I think people who are "half" black identify themselves as black, rather than white, because that's what they see in the mirror, and quite frankly, that's what everyone else sees.

If you saw Obama walking down the street and someone asked you for a descpription, you'd more than likely say, Tall, skinny black guy, NOT tall, skinny half-white guy.

By the way---GREAT point Lilo. Italian immigrants, such as all four of my grandparents, were hardly identified as white.

Let's face it, Obam' was slippin. Could Bill have gotten to him five months ago?

Now, let's not be stupid. There is nothing in any anthropological source that you can offer that states that Black and Caucasian = Ethnicities. They're races, cafone. Latino is an ethnicity since any anthropological source will tell you that Latinos can be of any race. That's why the US Census Bureau does not classify Latinos as a race. HOWEVER, it does classify blacks and caucasians as races.

And what is this goofy statement by you that according to my reasoning that Poles could be a race. Polish is a nationality and an ethnicity. There is nothing that a logical person could deduce from my statements that Polish constitutes a race.

There's no doubt that I am voting for Obama in my primary next month.

If it comes down to Clinton vs. McCain in November, I probably will vote for Clinton, but why wouldn't I? She's representing my party if she gets the nomination. I definitely would not vote Republican.

Well, I'm a Democrat, but I can proudly say I've never voted for a party in my life. I try to focus on the person, not the party.

Chris Rock used to do a funny bit on the subject.

I never vote for the party, its just that I've never found a republican better than a democrat

I don't even quite understand why Republicans (small government & free market) vote for the neocons (big government -- using the STATE to further the conservative cause or the needs of a few).

Government spending has increased faster under George Bush and his Republican Congress than it did under Bill Clinton. I just don't get it the big shift in ideals.