Her speech tonight got me fired up - there is a reason she can so close to being our next president.

No kidding. How do you explain to a three-year-old why you're tearing up at something like that?

My husband didn't even give me grief for simultaneously watching online, texting with Jen D., facebook chatting with my sister, IMing with my friend and crying....

Her speech didn't do much for me, actually. I liked her in the primaries and might have voted for her in the general election, but didn't find much of substance in what she said. Of course I listened to 2 hours of commentary before her speech in which experts from CNN, MSNBC, Fox and even BET described what her speech "had" to say. They were all mostly right, and so I guess I was a little disappointed that her speech was so predictable. Her arguments to the Clintonista die-hards were cogent, though, and I'd be surprised if Obama loses a lot of them in November.

Eh. I don't think it was supposed to be substantive so much as supportive and inspirational. What got me the most were the women's history references and especially the Harriet Tubman "don't look back" bit.

And I've been an Obama supporter all along. I hope to all the deities that you're right about November, PF.

Her speech caused me to pump and dump for the first time. I kept drinking champagne--then realized it had been a bit much.

I think Hillary just wants something out of this. She is a Clinton, after all. She either wants a position in Obama's cabinet, or she's trying to warm people up. I think she's going to try to help McCain win so she can run again in 4 years.

I'm just so tired of all this politics stuff. It really doesn't matter who wins. The government is only going to get bigger, and our taxes will continue to get higher, especially if you live in California.

While I agree that the govt will get bigger, Cog - and I know that you hate that - I must ardently disagree that it doesn't matter who wins. There is a big difference between govt that is helping many people and govt that is actively hurting many people. Rep's cannot manage this country on a federal level. That is very very clear. Either way, the govt gets bigger, so I'll take the party that has shown some success in actually governing (as opposed to the Rep's rape and pillage approach to our treasury).

You can look at the last 8 years and say it doesn't matter??? I feel sick...

While I'm griping, I was sort of bummed out that they kept replaying her concession speech, you know the one with the part about the big glass ceiling with 18 million cracks in it? I haven't met anyone yet who cast their vote against her because she's a woman, and I was proud to think that she was demonstrating how there actually wasn't a glass ceiling. To say she hadn't broke through the glass ceiling implied that she only lost to Obama because of her gender. Am I the only one naive enough to believe that isn't true? I think she lost because Obama had a message that resonated with more people, because he is a better communicator, and because he raised more money than she did.

But I really did like the Harriet Tubman part.

That's m'girl Hillary!!!! Though I've always loved Obama, and I fully support him now, Hillary was my first choice. She is fierce. Of course she had to say a lot of what she did for the sake of party unity, Obama would have made a very similar speech if positions were reversed, but I absolutely believe she is loyal to the Democratic party and will be loyal to Obama.

Hillary is way too smart to belive that the only reason she lost is because she is a woman, we all know it was more than that, but yes, there is still a glass ceiling and not just on the presidency. And not just for women. We have come along way but there is much to do and having Obama as the nominee, and (please, please, please) as the president will, if not shatter, than at least punch a giant hold in that glass ceiling.

And yes, it really does matter who wins and no, I don't believe Hillary will push for McCain to win just so she can run again in 4 years.

I loved the Harriet Tubman part as well - "keep going". Awesome!

Yeesh - giant 'hole', not 'hold'.

Regina, it really doesn't matter. If Obama wins, and he "helps" people, who is going to foot the bill for that? Taxpayers. He's all for redistribution of wealth. I really don't think the government is the best choice when it comes to deciding what to do with my money. I agree, the republicans aren't any better, and I think things would probably be worse with McCain as president, but even though I want Obama to win, I am fairly certain that things will also get worse but not as worse as if we had McCain. The reason that I say it doesn't matter who wins is because either way, I think the country is screwed. It's just a matter of how much lube we need to use.

Hillary was awesome.

Cog, one big difference between the candidates is that McCain is pro-life.

So I was watching this with some friends tonight.

None of us really felt the speech in the beginning, but near the middle she was connecting with me.

For all of the crazy crap you heard from the dip shits in the media PPF, the truth is that Hillary was standing there tonight telling her supporters, and really us all, that a vote for McCain is a vote against everything she and the women who have been fighting for freedom's cause have been doing over the course of our nation's history. The point of the Tubman reference was that even before we had the right to vote, we women worked for freedom's cause - not just for women but also for all of our children who needed us. And on the anniversary of gaining our right to vote, whether we can cast that vote for a woman or not, we will continue to vote for freedom and equality.

The men I was watching with didn't get why the women were crying. They really didn't get why Andrea F'n Mitchell was choked up talking to an older Hillary Delegate on the floor after the speech, so it fascinates me that I'm largely seeing the same gender goggles here.

She did exactly what she needed to do and I am fine with that. If a possible Obama loss gets pinned on her she is done politically. But she showed grace and class and got fully behind Obama so I am happy.

On a related note. MICHELLE OBAMA WAS FUCKING AWESOME ON MONDAY NIGHT!!!!!!!!! I was going to post about her yesterday but didn't get a chance. woo!

Of course people aren't going to say the wouldn't vote for her because she's a woman. That's a taboo, just as saying you won't vote for Obama because he's black is. You have to say it cagily, with things like "strident" or "bitchy" or "manipulative" etc. It's all about a woman doing something people feel women shouldn't be, even if they can't articulate that feeling they just think they don't "like" her for some reason (this is not to say that there aren't people who honestly don't like her, just that it's hard to parse out all the motives). Once the idea is introduced and stops being so foreign (or the glass ceiling is broken) progress is made towards people not feeling that it's something women shouldn't do. This is why the younger generation is so much more comfortable with gay people and gay marriage than older people, they've been around it in the media and known people who were out their whole lives.

I didn't watch it..politics in general disgust me. However, I was for Hillary (by a slight margin), and now I'm for Obama. What i see as the biggest problem is that to GET elected, a candidate must cater so much to "their side's" special interests AND the lunatic fringe of their party that not much constructive gets done. Currently, the Republicans are way too far in the clutches of their whacko set. Not to say that the Democrats don't have a lot of whacko concessions going on...and honestly, I believe that Obama is less entangled than Hillary.

My super-simple analysis of each party, generally speaking (last 8 years have been an exception)...

Republicans: Foreign relations& world image are strong....domestic policies SNAFU

Democrats: domestic situation strong and steady....rest of world situation in the toilet.

I am FERVENTLY grateful to whatever deity or deities there are that Shrub CANNOT run for a 3rd term. His espousal of so much of the fundamentalist/Dominionist line is terrifying.

I thought it took her a while to get going, but that once she did it was pretty awesome. But I was also a Hillary person, so maybe I'm biased.

So far as the general election goes, I think it does make a huge difference who wins. But again, I'm all for redistribution of wealth and I don't mind paying higher taxes to foot the bill for it either, so again I'm biased. But there's foreign policy, civil liberties, social issues, and loads of other places where Obama is better than McCain besides just the economy. And also, like Floor Pie said, Obama is pro-choice and McCain is very emphatically not.

And quite frankly, that is my big issue. I could never, ever, in a million years bring myself to vote for someone who was not pro-choice (and preferably unapologetic and militant about it, although I know that isn't going to happen anytime in the near future) for anything, no matter how much I agreed with them on other issues. I do honestly think I'd probably make even Amanda seem like a moderate on that particular issue.

Who cares if McCain is pro life. It's not like that is really going to change anything.

I really don't get why people think Hillary or Michelle are awesome. They regurgitated some speech that a slew of people wrote for them. They were probably coached on what to where, where to look and when, and when to smile. For all we know Michelle Obama could be kicking Barack's ass around the hotel room and beating him over the head with a lampshade, we'd never know. All I got out of her speech is that they are a family, and they like ice cream. Wow. Big woop. This attempt to appear non-elitist is exactly what I expected.

If McCain appoints a Supreme Court Justice who will overturn Roe v. Wade, that's a pretty significant change right there.

Thought Michelle O was far better than Hillary. I actually turned Hillary off to watch the Daily Show. She evokes no emotion in me, unfortunately. This is a sad statement, as I'm my county's democratic chairperson, and did campaign advance work for Hillary's senate race in my county...but she's just cold.

I thought Hillary's speech was great. I think she hit all the notes she needed to, and really laid out the idea that if you vote for McCain because she didn't get the nomination, you're screwing over women.

I loved Michelle Obama's speech the other night, too. She just amazes me every time I hear her. I think she'll make a heck of a first lady (I hope I hope).

I'm jealous of my brother; he's at the convention and rubbing elbows with all those folk.

Can one supreme court justice overturn roe v. wade? Or do they need just one more supporter to have a majority vote? I'm not quite sure. I've never put much credit in the supreme court, so I've never really kept up on the facists that occupy it.

Roe v. Wade is one thing that I don't care if they overturn. Abortion is the one issue that I'm not in favor of outlawing, but I wouldn't care if it was, as I'm a pro-lifer myself. Now, that doesn't mean that if you tell me you are going to get an abortion, I'm going to get all up in arms about it. That's your choice to kill, and it's not up to me to judge you for that.

Forgetting abortion, how do you like the Bill of Rights? Because the Republicans (and their Supreme Court nominees) tend to oppose freedom of speech and religion, against habeas corpus, in favor of your house being searched and your stuff being siezed, and they hate due process, which is what protects your freedom from your government.

And if you think they'll protect your guns, Bush signed gun control legislation recently, strengthening background checks etc.

Are the Dems perfect? No, but most of their faults have to do with helping the Repubs destroy America.

Oh, and it's up to 3 supremes that could be replaced by the next president.

I missed Hillary's speech because I was just too exhausted on the last night of vacation to stay up for it! I did want to see it though. I'm glad at least some folks here thought it was a positive speech. I agree that Michelle Obama was masterful Monday night. I'm probably not going to see any of the speeches tonight either. I need a 2nd tv!

Excuse me cause I'm a bit tired and cranky at the moment, but GODDAMNIT - it matters who is elected.

It matters because shit rolls downhill and the top of the hill is the oval office. It matters because the decisions of the Supreme Court affect our rights and if Roe v. Wade is overturned, women have been set back by decades. Guess what - for my own body, I'm a pro-lifer. There - I said it. But for any other woman, I'm a pro-choicer because I recognize what I believe is not necessarily the same thing someone else believes and I have no right to tell them what to do with their body.

It matters because we need someone in the white house who has at least a passing interest in helping the American people - all of us and not just the priviliged few. Do I think Obama is the be all, end all, the chosen one, the messiah who will take us by the hand and lead us to the promised land? Nope. But I think he will help us start turning things around.

If everyone in America actually gave a damn and thought it mattered who was president and took as much time to choose a president as they do to choose a paint color and just quit choosing "the lesser of the two evils", we may someday have the president we want and not the one the establishment wants us to have.

Cog, I know you don't care much for either of the two main political parties and I can certainly understand why. I definitely lean democrat on most issues, but I consider myself an independant. I am voting for Obama not because he is a "Superstar" or because of anyone else's opinion. It is because, on most issues, I agree with him and I really feel we need the breath of fresh air he will give us. He has inspired so many young people to become involved in the political process and that is really a wonderful thing.

We cannot sit back and take the attitude of not caring who is elected. I know it's a moldy oldie, but it's true that "if you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got". So to me, it matters.

The abortion thing really pisses me off. My only relative who has had one (that I know of) is a born-again Christian, definitely anti-abortion. And she had the worst kind of abortion, late-term -- maybe even "partial birth," or whatever.

But the baby was not viable outside the womb, and she was dying of pre-eclampsia. That's a great time for Congress and the Supreme Court to intervene. She wanted that child, who's gonna call her a murderer?

T-Rex, that is heartbreaking.

PBM, that's just it. It doesn't matter who gets elected. At least that's how I feel. We will still have big government. Our taxes will still be high. We'll still be fighting in Iraq.

You have to look at the big picture. Under either of these two people, government will grow. We will lose more of our civil liberties.

Oh, with regards to abortion, it's not really your body, it's the little body inside your body that you are deciding what to do with. I agree, that it's not up to me to go around telling women what they should or shouldn't do. I agree that the choice should be up to them, not a bunch of old white dudes in washington.

T-Rex, the situation you described is definitely an extenuating circumstance. In that situation, an abortion is not a means of birth control.