I love that idea. He is perfect for running the country!

Not for Pres. but Vice Pres. Alfred has my first vote. But put those two in office.....now there is change

I think you and Xiandi are missing a key point. Brooks is a columnist; that means he is paid to express his opinions in written form. This is very different from a reporter or regular newspaperman (or -woman), whose job is to write articles about the news that should have a neutral tone.

Actually, CNN didn't characterize this piece on their "political ticker" that way.

Ironically, Fox News literally has that phrase trademarked.

That would be true if any still existed.

And you'll note I used the word columnist, not newspaperman.

le sigh...thank you Warren, Starks, SanChonino, Zoo + Snidely...

If there's truth to this, then she'll certainly fit right in just fine with the rest of the crooks!

Question:  How many Republicans does it take to screw in one lightbulb?

Answer:  Manual labor, are you kidding?   I went to Harvard!  Get a Democrat!

carguy, you can't be serious! obama isn't patriotic and mccain is? some on! mccain is more patriotic how? because he graduated 5th from the bottom at annapolis? he was in annapolis only because his dad and grandpa were admirals. he's more patriotic because he was a pow? he got preferential treatment for part of his time as a pow after telling his captors he was an admiral's son. being a former pow makes him a beter patriot and more qualified to be pres? you can't be real!

i don't give a rat's ass about a militant from the 60's who is now a college professor. the man was in prison, people! he's paid his dues to society. i don't condone what he did 40 years ago but it was 40 years ago. it has NOTHING to do with today! we should be voting based on the candidate's policies concerning today! mccain is bringing up this ayres guy because he's desperate. his campaign people admit it as such. they're telling you they can't win if the election is based on policies concerning the war in iraq and the economy.

So a bad temper, losing the plot under pressure, lack of integrity and hair-brained ideas/ideals are things one should look for in a President and VP????  Would you work for an employer who exhibited all these traits??  Would you marry a woman who also exhibited all these traits???  I don't think so, and while the relationship may be different, if you vote that pair in it's something you'd have to live with until the possibility of divorce came up in 4 years... yes, 4 loooooong years.  Not something I wanna get wrong!

OK, so I reckon McCain sounds like a squeaky voice pimp and speaks like he has a stick shoved up his butt, but that is not the reason I do not like or respect him... though I would imagine that, combined with temperamental issues (with an emphasis on the mental), his squeaky pimp-like voice would command little respect from foreign leaders/diplomats who expect to be dealing with a rational and reasonable man of strength and character.... and in this ever shrinking world of internationalism, that IS an imporatant issue, don't you think!  It's not like it was back in the Dark Ages when National leaders rarely, if ever, met the leaders of other States or Principalities... so yes, since the advent of international flight and instant communications, it is important that other world leaders do not judge you on the character of a plot losing bad tempered old bastard with a squeaky voice.

Of course domestic policies are important to you, but in the much bigger picture a President is responsible for dealing with both domestic policies and foreign policy /affairs... and to date McCain has failed to show that he is the right man for the job, on both counts. On the other hand, however, given his public approval rate, Barack Obama has proven that his policies have widespread support, as does his character, both in the US and overseas.  A recent poll in Australia had Barack Obama at 87% as preferred US President... with John McCain on a paltry 13%  Apparently, the UK and New Zealand registered similar figures...

... and it doesn't matter how the World views John McCain, so long as a handful Stateside happen to like him?????

Yes, the last question and Obama DID NOT answer the question. He rambled something about being in the White House but never addressed the question.  He was pretty good at that thru the whole debate.   McCain said "I do not know what's going to happen here and abroad"  He then commented on about the new and different problems he'll encounter and that he was ready for the unexpected. 

Yes, and I'm wondering why this isn't brought out more.  Who you associate yourself with is important especially if they are funneling money into your campaign.  I think Obama is out for Obama, not for the US.  He's not running for President so much as he's running for world leader. 

SC.....I noticed lately you're just filled with the one liners but not alot of substance.  Please feel free to show us WHY you believe the way you believe instead of just resorting to this sort of comment which serves absolutely no purpose other than to make you look like you don't know what you're talking about. 

My most important issue to consider is science, and it seems to me that McCain just doesn't like science. He made an offhand comment about "projector" as pork project.

Basically, he slammed Obama about "$3 million overhead projector".

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/10/08/mccains-planetariophobia/

Well the issue is that those "projectors" teaches millions of children, and are one of most important educators of science. Not some kind of pork project. The more I read about him the more anti-science he seems to be. As left-leaning person, voting for him was already very low, but even if I was a hard-line right, I won't vote for anti-science president.

Tire gauges?  Bill Ayers? Me finks he doth protest too much.

You miss the point.  Why is the media reporting on itself?  Kind of like a corporation doing its own auditing.

Really? The media are a single entity now? Should I spell that with a capital "m"?

I'm pretty sure the item was posted on CNN's site because it referenced a column in a major metropolitan newspaper which was itself a sign of fracturing and schism within the ranks of Republicans; this is the kind of story that is always highlighted.

When Liebernman defects, that is news.  He is a politician.  When I defect, that is not.  I am joe schmoe.  The only reason you think it is news and they are making it news (or attempting to) is that they have lost their idea of what their job is.  And think it is now time to make it instead of reporting it.  That is the problem here, and what you are missing.  Little em or big em.

I don't remember saying anything about what I think is or is not news. Here's what I said: this is the kind of story that is always highlighted. It is. Watch any newscast or pick up any newspaper. What are the lead stories about? Conflict. That's not really the fault of the media. They're giving people what they want. It makes ratings. If they lead with stories about people rescuing kittens in Smalltown, USA, who would watch?

I don't entirely understand the point of the first bit of your response. No one was saying anything about you or Joe Lieberman. Sarah Palin is an important name in the Republican Party right now for obvious reaons. The fact that many major conservative pundits have vocally called for McCain to replace her on the ticket is news, because it points to the fact that there are a lot of conservatives within the Republican Party who view Palin as unqualified. That's not Katie Couric's opinion or Tom Brokaw's opinion or Brian Williams's opinion--if the OP had said that one of those three or some CNN anchor or Joe Reuters had said that Palin is unqualified, then I agree that that would represent the idea that the opinion of a newscaster/journalist is something inherently newsworthy, but that's not what this story is about.

Your notion that the media are collectively incompetent and incapable of performing the job that they are employed for is really just your opinion and it's not particularly relevant to this thread.

It is a failure though, taxes get raised to pay for it (NOTHING IS FREE!) and the quality is lowered. It's a well known fact.

Sure it sounds nice, but when it comes down to it the cons outweigh the positives in my opinion.

steve, it's a known fact that health care in much less expensive in canada and england and has been for years. sure, it sounds nice......and it is. healthcare in the us sucks. i have great insurance. i ralrey have to pay much of a medical bill but i'm far luckier than most people in the country.

Just make it simple.  Vote for the person who isn't supported by radical terrorists, Hamas, islamic front groups, socialist, and marxists.

Lets face it....who ever wins will be president & vice president of a broken country and we're pretty much screwed either way...they can stand at the bread lines and hand out loaves of bread and blocks of cheese...since none of us are getting any kind of bail out...we just get thrown out...repossessed...go bankrupt...live in cardboard boxes or shelters...and told how irresponsible "we" are.

I've been saying it for a long time that its circling the bowl...and now your hearing the giant sucking sound as it all goes down the drain. This country has the most absolute worst gene pool when it comes to the idiots running this asylum. I wouldn't invite a single one of them into my home! Liars...thieves and con artists all of them! And the people of this country have the minds of a plant when it comes to voting...as if voting "really matters"...the vote of the people really doesn't mean anything anymore. Oh! She's pretty! Let's vote for her. Oh! She's a woman! Let's vote for her! Or...He's was a POW...Lets vote or him!

The only real chance this country has is if "we all" (remember...there are more of us than there are of them...poor or not...and they are "suppose" to be working for us...not against us) finally agree on the fact we need to take this country back and that they don't give a rats ass about anyone or anything in this country except filling their own pockets before they get kicked out or serve they're term...and this government...and I use that word very loosely...needs to be completely and utterly gutted and rebuilt....with younger people that actually have a stake in the future....not sitting around in a wheelchair pissing in a bag (there also needs to be a cap on your age and be in "good health" to even run...and most importantly ARE NOT lawyers...common people who are actually in touch with the real world...who knows what its like to eat rice and live in the dark to survive...or actually budget money!

There is no training needed to be the president...there never was...that's what the advisors are for...to advise...its always been on the job training! Simply being in the military or any other vocation for that matter does not qualify you to be president...and that is not a dig against our service men and women...who this government treats like shit!

I seriously don't care how smart you think you are politically...all you know is what they want you to know...nothing more...and its all lies anyway. In this coming election you'd do just as well flipping a coin. None of them are worthy of running this country.

ID, please say you haven't been convinced by the negative ads that one candidate is supported by radical terrorists, Hamas, islamic front groups, socialist, and marxists. please say you haven't! does the other candidate saying a woman who shot a doctor twice "is a good woman" and was called a "terrorist" by the presiding judge at her trial make said candidate aligned with terrorists? no, it doesn't. base your vote on the policies of the candidate, not the negative ads and commercials!