DENVER – In 1908, when Democrats first gathered in Denver, African-American activists asked the party to make a place for them -- inside the convention, in the platform and in the campaign to come. At the very least, they asked, Democrats should take a stand against lynching.

William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic nominee for president, vetoed even that modest outreach -- fearing that to do so would weaken the party's hold on what was then referred to as "the solid south."

One hundred years passed. A civil rights movement rose. A new generation of political leaders – most, though not all of them, Democrats -- stepped gingerly toward the future.

And on Wednesday afternoon, at around 4:50 p.m., the Democratic party nominated an African-American man for president.

There has been a lot of talk, too much talk, about this being a "transformational moment" in American politics.

But it must be said that, if the quadrennial convention is the measure of a political party, then the Democrats have, a century on from their first gathering in Denver, completed a process of transformation.

Despite the bizarrely determined efforts of convention organizers and the campaign of Barack Obama to shift the focus away from nominating speeches and a clumsy roll-call vote -- by restructuring the schedule to complete the process while many Americans were still at work -- the most historic moment of the convention was its most traditional.

Far from the prying eyes of prime-time television, Democrats undertook the rituals of nominating two candidates for president -- Hillary Clinton, the woman who began the campaign as the all-but-certain Democratic nominee, and Obama, the man who upset those best-laid plans.

Such was the desire of the managers of the convention to downplay the actual work of the delegates who have traveled from across the country to be a part of this moment that those chosen to place the names of Clinton and Obama in nomination delivered almost perfunctory remarks.

Michael Wilson, a registered Republican from Florida and an Air Force medic who served in Iraq, nominated Barack Obama with an on-message declaration that, "I've seen war up close. I support Barack Obama because America needs a president who has the strength, wisdom and courage to talk to our enemies... who will respect our veterans when they get back home instead of letting them languish without the medical care they deserve."

Colorado Senator Ken Salazar dressed on-message, wearing a cowboy hat as he seconded the Obama's nomination. Another second came from Alabama Congressman Artur Davis, D-Ala., who assured the delegates that, "Our time is now!"

The Clinton nominating speeches were better, especially that of veteran United Farm Workers union leader Dolores Huerta, who described herself as a "passionate" Clinton backer and told the convention: "Hillary's values are the values of my family and my community. For Hillary Clinton, no American is invisible."

Whether the speeches were muscular or lame, however, the mood was electric in a convention hall that filled rapidly as delegates rushed to be part of the first real convention roll-call vote since Democrats nominated Bill Clinton in 1992.

States, commonwealths and territories grabbed their moments in the limelight -- Alabama stayed united behind Clinton, and everyone cheered; Illinois was strong for Obama, and everyone cheered; Guam asked for more self-determination, and everyone cheered.

It quickly became evident that Clinton delegates were breaking for Obama in a big way. Clinton had announced earlier in the day that she was casting her super-delegate vote for her former rival, and there was a "If he's good enough for Hillary..." vibe as the states announced. Michigan, where Obama wasn't even on the primary ballot, voted 125-27 for the Illinois senator.

Kathleen Weber, a delegate from Dubuque, Iowa, who started talking up Obama as a presidential candidate four years ago, was jumping up and down, saying, "I hope it's over."

And, in a few short minutes, it was.

New Jersey, a Clinton bastion, voted unanimously for Obama. Then, a wave of excitement swept through the Pepsi Center. Hillary Clinton was in the hall and making her way toward the New York delegation.

The delegation chair, veteran state legislator Sheldon Silver, called on "the great senator from New York." And Clinton spoke the words that formally opened the next chapter in the history of the Democratic party and perhaps the nation.

"With eyes firmly fixed on the future, in the spirit of unity, with the goal of victory, with faith in our party and our country, let's declare together in one voice right here right now, that Barack Obama is our candidate and he will be our president," said Clinton, as the crowd roared.

"I move Senator Barack Obama of Illinois be selected by the convention by acclamation as the nominee of the Democratic Party."

After the hall shook with applause and cheers, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the question. "Yes," came the cry of the crowd. Pelosi briefly, very briefly, entertained the question of whether anyone wanted to say "no" and, while a few Clinton dead-enders might have liked to do so, Pelosi declared the nomination fight to be finished.

The crowd chanted, "Yes we can!" The old O'Jays song "Love Train" blared through the loudspeakers. Hugs. Kisses. High fives. Arms around shoulders. Euphoria. And, and... something that looked and felt an awful lot like unity.

Tim Sullivan, a tough labor stalwart from Wisconsin who went to seven states to campaign for Clinton and said he cried when Clinton released her delegates, may have put it best when he said, "I was for Hillary. Oh, I was for Hillary. But Barack Obama beat her. And when he won, when he beat the woman I backed with all my heart and soul, he proved to me that he was ready to be president."

Sullivan cast his super-delegate vote for Obama.

Much will be made of the importance of speeches delivered Wednesday night by Bill Clinton and Joe Biden. Clinton and Biden are great speakers. And, surely, their remarks added to the historic character of the evening.

But nothing that Bill Clinton, or even Hillary Clinton, said; nothing that Michelle Obama said, or that Barack Obama says will make this convention historic -- let alone transformational.

The history, and with it the transformation, was made mid-way through a roll-call vote at the convention of a party that has, after long and difficult struggle, proven the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to have been correct when he said, "We shall overcome because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."

The arc is still being bent. There is, still, so much work to be done.

But when the party that once deferred the dreams of millions of Americans determined on a Wednesday afternoon in the summer of 2008 to finally and formally nominate Barack Obama for president, it confirmed that the trajectory is, indeed, in the direction of justice.

Comments (52)

1. "The nomination of Barack Obama -- rather than any speech -- marks the transformational moment."

   what, from a white suit to a brown suit?

   better cross your toes, too, mr. nichols.

   Posted by frosty zoom at 08/27/2008 @ 9:45pm

2. Posted by frosty zoom at 08/27/2008 @ 9:45pm

   FROSTY, come on. YOUR perfect or even near-perfect candidate won't ever be nominated to a reasonable shot at the Presidency.

   Posted by Maskdelta at 08/27/2008 @ 10:00pm

3. Beautiful - thank-you for posting this.

   Posted by ramara at 08/27/2008 @ 10:13pm

4. I think I get what John Nichols is aiming for here and an Obama presidency certainly would have --at the very least-- symbolic power.

   But Frosty is on target on the larger point, what will Obama actually propose for this nation that is a genuine break from the past and ongoing pattern of defacto corporate one party rule?

   I'll be figuratively crossing all of my toes and fingers as well that Obama and the American people figure out how to live within our means, and cooperate effectively with the rest of the global society to salvage a dangerously overstressed planetary ecosystem.

   Posted by b_kool_66 at 08/27/2008 @ 10:14pm

5. nor will yours.

   mr. obama's got me real pissed.

   blah, blah, blah.

   focused group wonder bread.

   not better than mccain.

   less worster.

   Posted by frosty zoom at 08/27/2008 @ 10:16pm

6. no, mask.

   electing someone who wouldn't kill for profit is just a stupid thing to wish for......

   goodbye manyfist destiny,

   hello hope.

   uh, huh.

   Posted by frosty zoom at 08/27/2008 @ 10:25pm

7. Posted by b_kool_66 at 08/27/2008 @ 10:14pm

   Hey, B_KOOL, remind us again who YOU were pulling for in the Democratic Primaries...

   and how if he had gotten the nomination, Cindy McCain would already be picking out a china pattern!

   Posted by Maskdelta at 08/27/2008 @ 10:33pm

8. What's the man's up to? Who he thinks he is? Or just like Bubba 8 yrs back who said he'd talked with Jesus?

   ----------

   Obama Speech Stage Resembles Ancient Greek Temple August 26, 2008 DENVER (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's big speech on Thursday night will be delivered from an elaborate columned stage resembling a miniature Greek temple.

   The stage, similar to structures used for rock concerts, has been set up at the 50-yard-line, the midpoint of Invesco Field, the stadium where the Denver Broncos' National Football League team plays.

   Posted by HelenDAO at 08/27/2008 @ 10:33pm

9. Posted by frosty zoom at 08/27/2008 @ 10:25pm

   FZ, if you think Obama will "kill for profit"...

   then you're so far out of the mainstream, that I stand by my original statement.

   Posted by Maskdelta at 08/27/2008 @ 10:34pm

10. Posted by HelenDAO at 08/27/2008 @ 10:33pm

    HELEN, I know you like the latest Right-wing Talking Point, but a question...

    what does the front of the....

    LINCOLN MEMORIAL look like???

    Posted by Maskdelta at 08/27/2008 @ 10:36pm

11. then you're so far out of the mainstream, that I stand by my original statement.

    Posted by Maskdelta at 08/27/2008 @ 10:34pm

    it's a good place to be.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/27/2008 @ 10:45pm

12. FZ, if you think Obama will "kill for profit"...

    then you're so far out of the mainstream, that I stand by my original statement.

    Posted by Maskdelta at 08/27/2008 @ 10:34pm

    no, he's not going to pick up an uzi and rob the local qwikimart.

    but he will continue to use "muscle" to "promote" american "interests".

    and people will die.

    prove me wrong.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/27/2008 @ 10:46pm

13. List of United States military history events

    1.1 1775-1800 1.2 1800-1809 1.3 1810-1819 1.4 1820-1829 1.5 1830-1839 1.6 1840-1849 1.7 1850-1859 1.8 1860-1869 1.9 1870-1879 1.10 1880-1889 1.11 1890-1899 1.12 1900-1909 1.13 1910-1919 1.14 1920-1929 1.15 1930-1939 1.16 1940-1945 1.17 1945-1949 1.18 1950-1959 1.19 1960-1969 1.20 1970-1979 1.21 1980-1990 1.22 1991-1999 1.23 2000- present 2 Other interventions 3 American Indian battles 4 Relocation 5 Armed insurrections and slave revolts 6 Range wars 7 Bloody local feuds 8 Bloodless boundary disputes 9 Terror, paramilitary groups and guerrilla warfare 9.1 18th & 19th century 9.2 20th & 21st century 10 Labor-management disputes 11 State and national secession attempts 12 Riots, Disorder and Natural Disasters 13 Covert operations, coups, military advisers etc. 13.1 1980s 13.2 2000s 14 Miscellaneous 14.1 Latter-Day Saints 14.2 Republic of Texas

    <<<<<>>>>>

    and people will die.

    prove me wrong.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/27/2008 @ 10:53pm

14. i had hope.

    but not now.

    prove me wrong.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/27/2008 @ 10:53pm

15. plans?

    no. no. no.

    that'll never work.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/27/2008 @ 11:01pm

16. RE: Unity ...

    Unity on sheer and mostly empty rhetoric? The people won't need that.

    ------------

    Tenn. Gov: Obama not specific enough By: Kenneth P. Vogel August 27, 2008 11:05 PM EST

    DENVER -- Barack Obama hasn't won over working-class swing voters because he hasn't moved beyond his soaring rhetoric to provide sufficient detail on economic proposals, Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen said Wednesday.

    Obama's Democratic presidential campaign has put too much emphasis on his abstract message of hope and change, and not enough on explaining how his specific policies would help voters struggling to make ends meet, Bredesen, a Democrat, told Politico.

    Posted by HelenDAO at 08/27/2008 @ 11:13pm

17. Biden, did what I expected Biden would do. He's now the attack dog. He is speaking to Obama's inexperience by questioning McCain's judgement. He is basically saying how can you vote for a man who voted 98% with a President who has a less than 30% approval rating. He is tying him to Bush. Which Obama hasn't done because Obama is attempting to stay above the fray. Biden is making sure that American voters remember that McCain has proved repeatedly in the last 8 years his worthless judgement in voting along with a President who has been viewed so far as a colossal failure by much of this country.

    How can you say that because McCain has more experience that he is better equipped to lead this country when he has shown nothing but the same flawed judgement as Bush that people like Frankgrits are against. You can't logically justify it because experience without judgement is worthless. Biden echoed this lack of judgement from McCain.

    "The choice is clear. These times require more than a good soldier, they require a wise leader."

    Exactly my point all along. We need someone who has good judgement. Not someone who has voted 98% of the time WITH a failed President. That doesn't show good judgement that shows someone who seeks to continue the policies of failure so greatly embraced by our current President.

    Hit McCain's "maverick" status. At counter act peoples fear for Obama's lack of experience by reminding them of McCain's repeatedly proven lack of even semi-decent judgement.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/27/2008 @ 11:18pm

18. RE: Unity ...

    If Big Mac picks Joe Lieberman or a woman as running mate, that will be a lot more excitement and diversity that Biden - Obama ticket.

    Posted by HelenDAO at 08/27/2008 @ 11:18pm

19. Posted by HelenDAO at 08/27/2008 @ 11:13pm

    I guess most people don't have the internet then because it's on his website.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/27/2008 @ 11:19pm

20. Oh and by the way I'm looking terribly forward to the RNC. Why? I can't wait for Bush to give a speech praising McCain. God it's gonna be sweet. Hell I hope Dick Cheney comes to talk too. Chain him to Bushes ever sinking Presidency.

    This is why I'm not worried Happy, because despite the ear plugging you guys like to do America does not like Bush and the Republican party has unequivocally tied to Bush right now including McCain. McCain has the benefit of his "maverick" status but the more they grind that away by linking his 98% with Bush voting record the more Americans start to realize that this man has shown little to no judgement that 70% of this country approves of.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/27/2008 @ 11:25pm

21. I'm sorry, what do you mean by "Alabama stayed united behind Clinton"? She got a few of our votes, but not most of them, and she didn't win the primary here, so it wouldn't have been an issue of "staying" anyway. Please fix or explain.

    You also forgot the part about how the interruption started with New Mexico yielding to Illinois, who had earlier passed and who then yielded to New York. I thought that was very well handled. It let everyone who needed to take a turn.

    It was, all in all, the best-designed, most inspiring secular ritual I've ever seen. I'm glad I was able to watch it online, rather than depending on tv, with commercial interruptions.

    Posted by tlesh at 08/27/2008 @ 11:36pm

22. This is SO funny...

    Frosty is all gloom and doom...

    Mask is all calming us with 'relax... things are as they should be'...

    Nichols is waxing eloquent on the sublimely historical precedents set at a national convention...

    ...and...

    Not one right wing troll so far.

    ;^)

    Posted by ttr at 08/27/2008 @ 11:37pm

23. frank,

    stopping pooping, please.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/27/2008 @ 11:42pm

24. well,

    ttr,

    plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.......

    cross your fingers, toes AND eyes.

    whatever,

    mr. obama won't have any money to spend...........

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/27/2008 @ 11:53pm

25. Frosty, Zero I know it is hard after all these years to hope that things can change. Obama is the best hope we have had in a generation. If we can all focus on what can be done and how to do it instead what is wrong and why it will fail then we can all be part of the solution. If Obama falls short then we dust ourselves off and start over. After all what is the alternative? Helen you just keep posting dear. Far be it for me or anyone else to deprive someone so obviously handicapped from any little pleasure she can get.

    Posted by bascaville at 08/27/2008 @ 11:56pm

26. by frosty zoom at 08/27/2008 @ 11:53pm...

    That would be ineffectual... we need to see straight, walk and run comfortably, and hold fast to our ever changing destiny. No amount of hope can get the job done for us... though it lightens our burden, and sweetens the pain...

    It is hard work that pays off in the end... after all the games have proven to be poorly conceived... and along the way, the tasks of rejuvenation themselves unburden our collective souls to soar into the present... unafflicted...

    en effet ... il n'ya rien à craindre, mais la peur elle-même.

    Posted by ttr at 08/28/2008 @ 12:21am

27. maybe.

    we'll see.

    i'd like america (like any other great place) to finally have leadership they deserve.

    it's been a long time........

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/28/2008 @ 12:30am

28. So long, in fact... that it may seem impossible... to the very people most capable of appreciating it and putting it heavily towards the common good?

    Say it ain't so, Frosty... please... say it ain't so!

    Posted by ttr at 08/28/2008 @ 12:39am

29. Posted by frankgrits at 08/27/2008 @ 11:27pm

    Because he isn't a slave he isn't black? I don't get what your barometer is but you seem to make up new reasons to dislike him everyday. In this country it doesn't matter if you are descendant of slaves, from africa, jamaica or just half black. In the eyes of that security guard following you around to make sure you don't steal things you are still just another threat. I don't get who made you the judge of what it is to be truly black in this country but you need to get over yourself and realize that when it comes to knowing what it is to be apart of the group of blacks, hispanics or any other minority in this country you obviously and glaringly know nothing.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/28/2008 @ 02:22am

30. The back of a penny? Posted by JOMAMMA at 08/28/2008 @ 12:11am

    Beat me to it.

    Posted by Cccomfo1 at 08/28/2008 @ 02:25am

31. There won't, of course, be any substantial change in the way the shop is run. Even if Obama won, and he wanted to, he would be unable to overcome the sheer inertia of the bureaucracies and courts, the magnetic pull of the secrecy habit, or the clever, unceasing and extremely persuasive voices of big money and their alter-ego, the military - the real bosses.

    Whichever man wins, he will be unable to address climate change because he will attempt a political rather than a scientific solution. It seems that both will try to wind down the unpopular war, but only a bit. Neither has shown any plan that will affect the looming depression. Draw your cash out now if you have any. The jails will remain full, the butchery of executions will continue. The national debt will mount. Short of a miracle... perhaps the rapcha? Let's HOPE!

    But think of the great RHETORIC that would come out of an Obama victory! The only hope, really, is that the bottom-up structures that he has set up will transform themselves into something democratic.

    Posted by mikecope at 08/28/2008 @ 03:04am

32. I got chills up my leg reading this article. So thrilling, so magical, so phony.

    Talking to the choir; now let's see how it plays in Peoria. Let's see how infanticide plays to the Catholics and Evangelicals, how $5 gas plays to commuters and soccer moms, how Russia, Iran and Pakistan rattling their sabres sounds to security conscious women, how intellectual elitism plays to our gun and bible toting Southerns and Midwestern workers, how tax and spend plays to our white collar businessmen, how populism plays to the majority of America.

    Obama may win, but is a reflection on the laziness of our people and our poor educational system, not on reality. It you read, explore, and analyze the facts and the truth, it is obvious Obama is wrong. His close associates are Racists, Terrorists, Convicted Criminals and Marxists. He voted to refuse care to infants born alive from botched abortions. Infanticide. He believes in punishing the productive members of society, and rewarding unproductive members of society. That is Communism. He will tax and spend, and dismantle our military, leaving us defenseless. Now is not the time to be defenseless in a world of Russia, Iran, Pakistan, Korea, and radical Muslim terrorists. He is so wrong, it is laughable that so many are so taken in. That is a reflection on the morals, values, and training of our people. Govt will not solve our problems, and shouldn't. Govt is there for basic services - transportation, common defense, basic need - not as a daddy state to provide for us.

    Time for self reliance and realism. Time for McCain.

    Posted by Honestly at 08/28/2008 @ 06:37am

33. Posted by Honestly at 08/28/2008 @ 06:37am

    "Govt is there for basic services - transportation, common defense, basic need - not as a daddy state to provide for us."

    Nicely said. And the fact that people like Obama have a snowball's chance in hell in getting elected is a poor reflection indeed on the state of our society.

    Posted by pontificus at 08/28/2008 @ 07:58am

34. Inexperienced, cynical careerists like Obama can't get elected and that's a reflection on our country? Good.

    Posted by ReverendWrithe at 08/28/2008 @ 08:12am

35. The Libs are funny sometimes. I watched last night as they fell all over each other trying to acknowledge the historical moment (for which they take credit, of course): The Black guy finally made it to the top.

    And the only one who didn't give a damn about all that was the Black guy at the top.

    The irony is that Barack Obama made it to the top through hard work, overcoming his environment, getting past the disfunctional family thing, EARNING his respect and (to use the cliche)pulling himself up by his own bootstraps, like Clarence Thomas and Colin Powell, and Condoleeza Rice and Thurgood Marshall and Andrew Young and...

    Wait...

    That's the conservative, individualistic old fashioned method for success!

    How 'bout that.

    Posted by CHIP THORNTON at 08/28/2008 @ 08:41am

36. Posted by frankgrits at 08/27/2008 @ 11:27pm

    I think I see FRANK's "back-up plan" now...

    Obama wins?...he credits the Clintons!

    LOL

    Posted by Maskdelta at 08/28/2008 @ 09:07am

37. Posted by CHIP THORNTON at 08/28/2008 @ 08:41am

    I think I see CHIP's back up plan...

    Obama wins?...it's because "he's a conservative!!!"

    ROFLMAO!

    Posted by Maskdelta at 08/28/2008 @ 09:08am

38. The irony is that Barack Obama made it to the top through hard work, overcoming his environment, getting past the disfunctional family thing, EARNING his respect and (to use the cliche)pulling himself up by his own bootstraps, like Clarence Thomas and Colin Powell, and Condoleeza Rice and Thurgood Marshall and Andrew Young and... Wait... That's the conservative, individualistic old fashioned method for success! How 'bout that. Posted by CHIP THORNTON at 08/28/2008 @ 08:41am

    Anyone who can mention Thurgood Marshall and Clarence Thomas in the same breath doesn't deserve to be taken seriously.

    On another note, both Condoleezza Rice and Andrew Young had a fairly privileged upbringing compared to the vast majority of African-Americans (or even the 'white' Joe Biden). Just how do they fit the definition of "pulling themselves up by their bootstraps?"

    Posted by oneworld at 08/28/2008 @ 09:32am

39. On another note, both Condoleezza Rice and Andrew Young had a fairly privileged upbringing compared to the vast majority of African-Americans (or even the 'white' Joe Biden). Just how do they fit the definition of "pulling themselves up by their bootstraps?" Posted by oneworld at 08/28/2008 @ 09:32am

    Sigh! That parenthetical bit about about Joe Biden is a left-over from another line I edited out later. Please ignore it.

    Posted by oneworld at 08/28/2008 @ 09:40am

40. It's no secret that Barack Obama does not possess a drop of slave blood in his body. Although he's being presented historically as the first black candidate for POTUS, I would much rather have seen a descendent of slaves aspire to that position. There's something fraudulant about his marketing and packaging.

    America will decide.

    Posted by frankgrits at 08/27/2008 @ 11:27pm | warn this person

    Ah, so if he were a descendant of slaves you wouldn't have referred to him as "boy" or told a racist robot joke?

    Posted by brunowe at 08/28/2008 @ 09:40am

41. by Honestly at 08/28/2008 @ 06:37am...

    Did you make this stuff up yourself? Or did you have a little 'help' from your better half... the LRWMSM*.

    *lying right wing media spin machine

    Posted by ttr at 08/28/2008 @ 10:26am

42. Posted by Honestly at 08/28/2008 @ 06:37am

    Thanks for that note from crazy land. Apparently, whatever portion of the educational system that formed you intellectually failed to provide you with an adequete understanding of what the word "communism" means. Further, the hyperbole about leaving us "defenseless", the think of the children scare tactics, etc. only works for people that don't have a brain in their head and already believe in your flawed view of the world - Ponti's comment beautifully illustrates this point.

    The best thing though is how you try to have your cake and eat it too when you imagine how all these problems would magically go away if the American population was simply "educated" correctly. The daddy state is okay in so long as it is taking our money and "educating" us on the right thing to think, but bad, bad, bad when it tries to tackle hard questions such as systematic problems in our economy that favor rich people over the poor, population control, and so forth.

    I'd laugh if it weren't so sad.

    Posted by srjenkins at 08/28/2008 @ 11:28am

43. Hillary was stabbed in the back repeatedly, but still got large, big, and good numbers in critical primaries and major states. Obama is a thug who hacked his way thru caucuses, and thus in 2008, did what GWB had done in Florida & Ohio for the general elections. Vote counting for the nomination was a repeat of earlier vote counting in the caucuses, delivering the party to BareHack "backtrack" HObama.

    Posted by CAPTAINSKIPPY at 08/28/2008 @ 11:41am

44. Adding momentum to Obama-Biden ticket coming out of Denver is the fact that so many Republican officials have ditched their party over its extreme stances on social issues and switched to become Democrats: http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3866/jumping_ship/

    Posted by DonnieW at 08/28/2008 @ 12:22pm

45. I am so ashamed. For months I have been stating that I was going to vote for Ralph Nader. I'm a Democrat; Senator McGovern was the first one that I voted for. I love the Obama/Biden ticket. I didn't take the time to read enough about Senator Obama.

    Being from Arizona I know about McCain and we can't be nice with him. He is a mean man, the Clintons' are more Christian than he or I for that matter. I would never have forgiven him for the mean, nasty joke he told about their daughter and our Attorney General at the time. He pushed a woman in a wheelchair and the complaints were ignored by the Republican Ethics Committee. Being in a wheelchair myself I know how vulnerable we feel in our chairs; McCain should have paid for that mistake but everyone always excuses him because he was a POW and we have to be lenient about his temper tantrums, like some little boy. If he can't control is temper with a women in a wheelchair visiting his office about a POW Bill, then I surely don't want him near the button in the White House.

    Posted by argonaut at 08/28/2008 @ 12:41pm

46. by Honestly at 08/28/2008 @ 06:37am...

    Did you make this stuff up yourself? Or did you have a little 'help' from your better half... the LRWMSM*. *lying right wing media spin machine

    Posted by ttr at 08/28/2008 @ 10:26am

    i bet this"honestly" is blogging for POINTS!

    <<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>

    Win Points for McCain! Rewards Program for Online Commenters

    -- John McCain's Web site provides suggested talking points and links to blogs. --

    By Paul Farhi

    WASHINGTON POST STAFF WRITER

    Thursday, August 7, 2008; Page C01

    Spread John McCain's official talking points around the Web -- and you could win valuable prizes!

    That, in essence, is the McCain campaign's pitch to supporters to join its new online effort, one that combines the features of "AstroTurf" campaigning with the sort of customer-loyalty programs offered by airlines, hotel chains, restaurants and the occasional daily newspaper.

    On McCain's Web site, visitors are invited to "Spread the Word" about the presumptive Republican nominee by sending campaign-supplied comments to blogs and Web sites under the visitor's screen name. The site offers sample comments ("John McCain has a comprehensive economic plan . . .") and a list of dozens of suggested destinations, conveniently broken down into "conservative," "liberal," "moderate" and "other" categories. Just cut and paste.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/28/2008 @ 12:48pm

47. Posted by frosty zoom at 08/28/2008 @ 12:48pm

    All the education anyone needs is right there available from John McCain's website. Isn't this a fantastic country?

    Posted by srjenkins at 08/28/2008 @ 12:53pm

48. To Honestly:

    Sorry, I didn't know I had to do your research for you.

    McCain Assaulted a Woman in a Wheelchair dailykos.com

    just Google: John McCain, temper

    another is: A wheel-chair bound woman asked McCain about the Community Choice Act, a piece of legislation for disabled Americans that would give individuals greater freedom on where to live. "What that would do is it would end the institutional bias," the questioner said, then asked him if he would consider supporting it. "I will not," McCain responded, "because I don't think it's the right kind of legislation." A trio of people in wheelchairs left the room shortly after his response.

    Washington Street Journal

    Why didn't he tell why he didn't like it?

    Posted by argonaut at 08/28/2008 @ 1:55pm

49. Honesty wrote: "Govt will not solve our problems, and shouldn't. Govt is there for basic services - transportation, common defense, basic need - not as a daddy state to provide for us.

    Time for self reliance and realism. Time for McCain."

    If you believe what you wrote is what the Republicans believe, then why is there Corporate Welfare? Do you want the physically handicapped and the mentally disadvantaged living on the streets? I hope that you never have any trials in your life, but it sounds like that is the only way that you are going to find any feelings for anyone but yourself.

    Republican Christians always bring up abortion but when it comes to taking care of our poor children their hearts turn cold. The Republicans will never do anything about abortion because it is a reason to rally their troops. They have had the Congress, Presidency and now the Supreme Court, have they done anything about it. No and they never will. Constitutionally the way to make a change is through the states. Women tried it for equality, which is another issue that McCain is against.

    Posted by argonaut at 08/28/2008 @ 8:09pm

50. Posted by Darin_the_Troll at 08/28/2008 @ 5:58pm

    nothing like printing wads of money to get the economy rolling......

    for a while.

    look for interest rates to take a big hike in december.

    Posted by frosty zoom at 08/28/2008 @ 11:05pm

51. For Honesty, another article about the assault to a woman in a wheelchair by McCain.

    Elliot D. Cohen: POW/MIA Families Alleged McCain Assault: Senate Ethics Committee Failed to Investigate

    http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/contributors/1670

    Posted by argonaut at 08/28/2008 @ 11:46pm

52. John Nichols, I respect and value your every opinion. I read the Nation, and blogs and emails from friends. However several years ago I abandoned The Democratic Party, The Democratic Leadership Council, and the Democratic National Committee. You may ask why. In 2006, the Democratic Party Leadership was given a simple two fold mandate: end the occupation of Iraq and impeach Bush. They have failed miserably. The 110th Congress will go down as one of the worst in history. The Republicans have given us the worst administration in history; the the Democrats have given us the worst Congress. You might want to argue with this viewpoint, but it is not mine alone. And further I would suggest to you that it is a "fact" that many, many people remain dissatisfied. Our country is still at risk. And nothing has been or is being done about it. And I respectfully submit- energy, education, agriculture, trade agreements, ongoing wars, mercenaries, global warming, nuclear rearmament, over-population, the hedge funds buying food reserves and production. Truly this election is important but it does not mean much unless people know and understand a vast array of issues and begin to act...this time globally.

    Posted by manyearss at 08/29/2008 @ 10:52pm