What a wonderful article. Now, it all makes perfect sense! I have always wondered about the villification of Hillary Clinton and how disproportionate it seemed to her meager political achievements and leadership. Now, it seems the vitriol has all been smoke and mirrors!

Hillary Clinton is the neocon element of the Republican party's political hedge fund. All the vituperative nonsense about her as well as the message of the inevitability of her nomination, has been designed to drive every feminist, black, Latino, poor, working poor, uninsured, populist and progressive, anyone and everyone, who would never be expected to vote for a Republican neocon, into the Hillary camp. Hillary is PLAN B!

Stephen B. Hatt

Saint Augustine Beach, FL

Well, I finally finished the article and while I'm just as sick to my stomach as I was after reading the first page, I'm less likely to throw up after realizing the need to stay proactive and in touch with my principles.

While some may not see the important implications of candidates (to borrow my line from the title of a great song by Roger Hodgson formerly of Supertramp)"Sleeping With The Enemy," I find it rather disturbing. It's a bit like playing games with words. Follow me please. It used to be that people with integrity were respected, admired, looked up to and emulated, but what has happened over the past siz years in particular is that the word "integrity" has been replaced by the word "conviction." Instead of Bush having integrity, he has conviction. As such, he's supposed to be hailed as a really good man and one who should be respected and admired. Now Hillary is playing the same game.

Although this word change game may seem minor, look at it more closely and you begin to see a disturbing pattern of bait and switch that has been going on for many years in the Republican Party. For the Democrats to begin modeling these behaviors...well...and for the media, in general anyway, willingly going along and offering little criticism or critique of this game is frightening.

Integrity evokes thoughts of morality, humanity, sanity and good leadership. Conviction, on the other hand, like the words "great" and "perfect" evokes nothing about one's moral fiber. Quick example; Hitler was a great man and a stone is perfect.

Like the words "great" and "perfect," the word "conviction" has been used to trick us into attaching integrity to elected officials. Hillary Clinton's decision to surround herself with liberal-hating conservatives and her refusal to criticize her vote for the Iraq war puts her in the same company as those on the right who've been rewriting the definitions of words in order to confuse the hell out of people like me. And for those two reasons, she has no integrity and I believe would sell her soul to be President. She, like so many extremists on the right, has decided, for the sake of power that it's worth the risk of living in the Biblical Babylon, where up is down, right is wrong, left is right and sane insane. I, however, have chosen not to be the good disciple and will vote for someone with more integrity.

John LeVan

Thorndale, PA

As a NYC resident, I have observed Hillary for so many years. I have to say I will never vote for her for her act of a political opportunist. She and her husband have used the Democratic base to achieve their own political ambition. In turn, they haven't have the courage to act upon the belief of their base or they are simply too selfish to think beyond their own political gain. Their so-called centrist stand, to me, is unprincipled stand for winning any votes.

Bush has proven to us how dangerous it is when a leader only thinks for his own political gains, namely to win the next election. To me, Hillary is just another version of Bush. I hope a true leader--a selfless public servant with the public's interest in mind--will emerge in this coming election circle, so I will not see another political opportunist such as Hillary to become our next President.

May MacGregor

New York, NY

I'm really saddened by the vitriol and rancor in this article. I have to say this is one of the nastiest hit jobs I've seen on Hillary in a while. So many allegations and so few facts: none whatsoever to inculpate Hillary Clinton of any views even remotely anti-union or "corporate."

You repeat accusations of push polling with nothing whatever to back them up. You presume to tell us that her speeches sound hollow because she raises millions for her campaign. You follow the ties of people she knows to corporations as though having ties to corporations (firms that represent over 80 percent of sales in America) is criminal. You quote people who portray her as some kind of project to keep an eye on. To what end? God knows... And it's all biased mush.

No wonder much of America does not heed the dire warnings of The Nation and other tangentially journalistic sources that value opinion over facts: They'd rather make their own decisions rather than accept the pronouncements of secluded partisans who cash their checks on outrage and scandal. Shame on you and your magazine for this ridiculous piece.

Alexander Bryan

Long Beach, CA

I have been an active registered Democrat since 1959--ENOUGH IS ENOUGH--no more dollars or hours for the Democratic Party, or for that matter the Republican Party either, now that the WORMS have surrendered to a minority of Illegal Aliens. What good is it for an American soldier to have her legs blown off in Iraq to "support" Geo. Bush's "surge" when the USA has been sold down the river by zero-spined Senators/Representatives and President (and let us not forget the Judiciary giving a free pass to Illegal Aliens as well)? AMERICAN Patriots dead since 1776 must be spinning in their graves all over the planet. Imagine the wasted lives trying to preserve and protect the USA while Washington DC waves a white flag of surrender as if the enemy is going to respect it and honor those that fly it. Get real--these are not immigrants of old! These have no intention whatsoever even lifting a finger to try to assimilate. These are on the path to reconquer what they consider their territory. These are Illegal Alien Criminals intent upon the utter destruction of the USA. Anybody with a brain can clearly see their contempt for all things American and for all Americans, who they do mean to exterminate and replace. History's lessons are full of examples of societies reaching a peak then plummeting into the back alleys of the world. Just try NOT to think of even one such example! Should the President and Congress, especially the Senate, foist this rehashed cave-in surrender on the AMERICAN people this country will cease to exist. Shame on Bush/Cheney/Gonzales/McCain/Kennedy/Boxer/Feinstein and others of short-sighted vision. May their names forever be remembered in INFAMY.

Doc Hilliard

Big Bear, CA

If Hillary gets elected POTUS, may Odin have mercy on us all.

She'll have to prove her balls are as big as anyone's. The best way to do that in our dysfunctional nation is to start a war.

She'll keep the war against Iraq going and--if we haven't already-- bomb Iran back to the Stone Age.

People in this country are desperate for someone who can lead the entire nation and speak coherent sentences.

Hillary is one smart cookie, but by no means will she put the will of the people first.

She'll have too many campaign debts to corporations to pay off and we all know what that means.

Greg Bacon

Ava, MO

I'm a 45-year old social worker. I provide for my family of three on less than $45,000 a year. I managed to buy a home, the best financial decision I ever made. I live paycheck to paycheck. My son just turned 7.

Having said that, I couldn't read past the first page of this article before getting depressed. I'm sure I'll finish but I just can't do it right now. I'm a progressively liberal Democrat who really does believe in empowering people and fighting for the rights of all, even those on the right, but things have become so convoluted, I can't tell who my friends are anymore.

Bill Clinton was the hope many of us were dreaming of. The second comming of sorts, but when he sold us out to Conservative economics, I was floored. Then Bush came to power and all my senses screamed for a return to Babylonless days, as if they'd ever exisited. Now there's Hillary. Not Kucinich not Jerry Brown not Howard Dean not Edwards not even Gore, but Hillary, an apparent Republican dressed in Democratic clothing.

I'm literally sick to my stomach over the thought of her becoming president because she seems like the great false hope, and great false hopes tend to be more harmful than recognizable villains like Bush.

Perhaps after I read the rest of this story on Hillary I'll come to a different conclusion. I'll let you know.

John LeVan

Thorndale, PA