When a house burns down, security's a moot point. The House, the United States of America, is a four-alarm fire. Forty-six million Americans live without health care insurance. Many of them are losing their homes in record numbers. Fuel costs are skyrocketing, and food prices are out of control. Education is becoming something only the rich can afford. Our infrastructure is crumbling. We borrow money from China to buy oil from Saudi Arabia. Women continue to earn less money than men for equal work. The government sanctions torture and the Constitution is considered by too many to be merely a piece of inconvenient paper.

John McCain believes he is the most qualified to secure our burning House. But, his beliefs on the economy are like gasoline, and he admits freely he doesn't know much about it. However, he is more than willing to continue Bush's policies, and, like Bush, will continue pouring gasoline on the flames of our burning House. The House will not survive under four more years of Republican rule. If there is no House, John McCain's so-called superior security and/or foreign relations experience will mean nothing.

Barack Obama will extinguish the flames and begin the long and hard task of repairing the damage. He will have the help of Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Bill Richardson, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and so many other great Democrats. And, when they are finished repairing the House, it will finally be secure, again.

Meanwhile, Senator McCain can go retire in one of his seven houses.

I know we're only in Day 2 of the convention, but, overall, last night's presentation was a bust. There were two notable exceptions: Michelle Obama and Ted Kennedy. Democrats should be swaggering, not showing fear of offending the Republicans. I guarantee you, on Day 1 of the Republican convention, they will be making the case that Obama is not ready or qualifed to be President.

President Bush is the worst President in our history, and John McCain has voted with him 95% of the time! Democrats at the convention must link John McCain with George Bush, and it should be constant. If they don't, the convention could be a total loss. They've already lost one day.

Democrats should be going for jugular. Four year ago, John Kerry decided to "play nice" with the Republicans. He and others barely mentioned George W. Bush's name, and Kerry lost.

I'm optimistic that tonight, Hillary Clinton will go on the attack, because Democrats need to grow a spine. Eight years ago, gasoline prices were at $1.50 a gallon. Now, they're at or over $4 a gallon. Eight years ago, middle class Americans on average made $6,000 a year more than when Bill Clinton first took office. Now, they've lost at least $5,000 of that under Dubya. We've lost thousands of soldiers because of an unnecessary war. We are no longer at the top of our game with regard to foreign relations. It is all because of the Republicans! Democrats need to be fearless and make the case why America literally cannot survive 4 more years of John McCain/George Bush.

I understand that Barack Obama wants to reach out to the Republicans, and doesn't want to risk alienating the centrists. I understand it's a tightrope he's trying to walk. After he's elected, and we've hopefully lost a few more of the undesirable Republicans in Congress, he can then reach across the aisle.  Now is the time to obliterate the Republicans, not play nice.

When I heard CNN make the announcement that Obama did not pick Clinton as his VP candidate, I was angry and disappointed. He disrespected the millions of Clinton supporters. He made his first big decision, and it was a horrible mistake!

Of course, that was my irrational, knee-jerk reaction based on my long support of Hillary Clinton. Well, I've had a few hours to think about things (actually, I've been pondering my support of Obama for much longer than that), and I've finally put things into perspective. I've been a good Democrat for 28 years, and will never vote for a Republican. I certainly will not vote for a third-party candidate because, in my view, it would be throwing away my vote, as inconsequential as it may be.

I know there are a lot of Hillary Clinton supporters out there who are angry and disappointed. Maybe you should ask yourself the same question I asked of myself. How badly do you want the Democrats to win?

For me, the answer is simple. I can't....I don't want to imagine a world with John McCain as President. President Bush has almost destroyed this country and McCain will do nothing but continue that downward spiral into a deep, dark abyss.

I very much want the Democrats to win. So, he didn't pick Hillary as VP. More than likely, he never even considered her. But, none of that matters now. Barack Obama must become President. Frankly, he can't do it without the help of Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, and all the other wonderful Democrats, most especially the Hillary Clinton supporters.

Finally, if you are an angry Hillary Clinton supporter, just ask yourself one question. How badly do you want the Democrats to win? If you can't answer the question, or you don't want it that bad, go to McCain. Good luck.

When do you think Barack Obama will announce his running mate? John Kerry tagged John Edwards on July 6, 2004. The convention began on July 26. Al Gore named Joe Lieberman during the first week of August 2000, although the press seemed to know at least a week earlier. The 2000 convention began on August 14. Bill Clinton named Al Gore on July 10, 1992. That year, the convention started on July 13. I believe Barack will announce his running mate next week. What's your guess (see the poll)?

You have to love The Daily Show. I know it's all about the comedy, but sometimes, often times, you see some truth in the "daily news" Jon Stewart covers. For instance, last night, he showed a clip of John McCain standing in the aisle of some supermarket. He was drooling all over some lady pushing a shopping cart. Suddenly, off screen, you hear the sound of falling cans. The camera pans down and to the right to show some hapless store clerk (who is probably working for minimum wage with no health care benefits, etc.)with can goods spread about him on the floor. You can almost see him thinking to himself "Oh sh*t!."

All of this happened within inches of McCain's right foot. Mind you, Jon Stewart was making the point that, in comparison to Obama's recent press, McCain's has been nothing but boring and under whelming. But, I saw something else. I saw proof of John McCain's compassion for the working people - the proof was in the details.

Did McCain attempt to help the clerk by picking up some of the cans? Hell no! But, what a photo op that would have been! Would Obama have assisted the unlucky clerk? Maybe. As a matter of fact, yes, I believe he would have.

I don't get it. Over the last couple of days, while Obama has been overseas, the media seems obsessed with any possible Obama gaffes. They make the case that, since he's a presidential hopeful, he should make any mistakes while meeting world leaders.

Excuse me? Let me remind them of President George W. Bush.

That guy has made just about every mistake possible, but the media has never given him the kind of scrutiny they are aiming at Obama. And, don't even get me started on McCain's f*ck-ups!

I'm so glad the media has raised the bar for presidential hopefuls. It's too bad they didn't do it 7-8 years ago.

Just because I will vote for a Democrat for President in November doesn't mean I will not question or candidate. I believe Obama's positions on the issues should be continuously scrutinized, and criticized when appropriate. I'm particularly upset about the newest so-called compromise FISA bill being debated in Congress and Obama's support. It's actually everything the Bush Administration wants.

I'm not the kind of supporter who lets my adoration of the man overpower reality, and I'm not going to trust that Obama, with his "divine" wisdom, knows what's best for us normal people. He says the new FISA bill is good because it puts an end to Bush's illegal spying on Americans.

Well, he's right, in a way. The bill puts an end to illegal spying because it will make it legal! I want Obama to explain it to us, in detail, why it's a good idea to give all Presidents the freedom to grab all incoming and outgoing international communications without a warrant. If we don't have all the facts, he needs to let explain it to us. Why is it a good idea to give what the ACLU says is "an unprecedented extension of governmental surveillance over Americans." We cannot afford to just take it on his word or anyone else's that this is a good idea. I don't accept the excuse that withholding the facts supporting the need for warrantless surveilllance makes our country more secure. Trust no one. That includes those that want us to trust unconditionally.

If he doesn't share his divine wisdom, I can only come to one conclusion: He and the Democrats in Congress have betrayed us on this matter.

"Given the legitimate threats we face, providing effective intelligence collection tools with appropriate safeguards is too important to delay."

If you guessed Bush, you'd be partially wrong. Those particular words were spoken last Friday by Barack Obama. Sounds a lot like George Bush. Don't believe me, read on.

On the same day, Bush said the bill "allows our intelligence professionals to quickly and effectively monitor the plans of terrorists abroad, while protecting the liberties of Americans here at home." It's uncanny.

Obama and the Democratic leadership want us to believe that this bill protects our liberties by providing judicial oversight over all domestic surveillance. In reality, according to the ACLU, the bill "permits only minimal court oversight. The FISA Court only reviews general procedures for targeting and minimizing the use of information that is collected. The court may not know who, what, or where will actually be tapped, thereby undercutting any meaningful for the court and violating the Fourth Amendment."

In the incredibly rare instances where the FISA Court denies a warrant to the President, under the new bill, the President can go ahead and do the wiretapping anyway while the appeals process continues. That process can take months. In other words, there will be no effective judicial oversight with this bill.

Russ Feingold calls the idea that this is a good compromise "a farce" and "political cover." In my opinion, it's specifically designed to provide political cover for Obama. Feingold says "Anybody who claims this is an OK bill, I really question if they've even read it."

All Democrats, all Americans should question any politician who claims the latest FISA bill is good for America. Don't let your adoration blind you from the facts. We are being betrayed. Call your Congressional representatives and let them know, in no uncertain terms, you will not be betrayed on this issue.

Last night, I watched Comedy Central's Daily Show. I just love that show. Mr. Stewart pointed out that, three months ago, during one of his rare press conferences, Bush II feigned surprised at a reporter's assertion that $4 a gallon gasoline was on the horizon. Bush II said that he hadn't heard that and even treated the reporter's comments with contempt. Later, in that same press conference, McCain's mentor said that, if Congress would just defeat any attempt to end corporate welfare to oil companies, it would prevent $4 a gallon gasoline.

Fast forward to today. Congress didn't pass any measure to end welfare to big oil, and we have $4 a gallon gasoline! It seems Bush III (aka McCain aka McBush) doesn't have to try very hard to look exactly like Bush II. They share fundamental ideas and beliefs, especially when it comes to doling out welfare to big oil. I wonder if McBush knows about $4 a gallon gasoline? As I'm sure it's occurred to everyone else, unless McCain denounces everything about Bush, I mean every single thing, there's no way in hell he can get elected President! The beauty of it is, if he does denounce Bush, he still doesn't have a chance!