"And only shallow ones change it ever every 2 weeks - if not more frequently than that. Kerry never seemed to understand that you have to make a decision about policy and stick to it long enough to see whether it works or not."

During the campaign for President, Kerry made his points very well. The problem was the media that used the Rove talking points and only took small sound bites from Kerry's speeches which made him look as though he was not being clear or constantly changing his mind. The so-called "flip-flopping" by Kerry was nothing more than a tool that was fabricated by the Republicans. If Don would have taken the time to actually research and read Kerry's speeches in their entirety, he would see this.

In the meantime, Bush is still "sticking to his policy" of watching our soldiers losing limbs and dying in large numbers while he is "re-thinking" his policy. I can't think of one thing that George W. Bush has ever done in his life that was a success. There has always been someone who has had to clean up his messes after he was gone. This time he out-did himself, it will take years to get out of this mess in Iraq and years to clean up all the damage he has done to our country.

How was anyone supposed to have a clear position on Iraq when they are being fed false information? Kerry and the rest of the Senate and Congress were given hyped up and outright lies regarding WMD. Kerry can't be blamed for decisions based on false or misleading information.

Obama is a great guy, but should wait to run. He is too inexperienced and I still don't know all his positions. I do know that he voted for Condi Rice for Secretary of State, a mistake, IMO. I also know his name is on that horrible bankruptsy bill, another huge mistake. He may be a good speaker and a nice guy, but he's weak. I know nothing of his foreign policy either. He's got a long way to go and I think the US should learn from their mistakes of electing a smooth-talking, nice guy to be President. Remember all the idiots who said they voted for Bush because they thought he was the type of guy they thought they could sit and have a beer with? I have the feeling Bush would have stuck them with the bill, just like he stuck us with an enormous debt.

"I largely agree with the rest of your post, Pinkerton - but not on this one. The best judgement of dispassionate political science researchers is that the effect of the Veep on the ticket is a very small one, and the effect is quite localised."

At any other time, I might agree with that assessment. However, since Cheney had become VP, the office of VP has changed direction. Cheney had much more power than any other VP that I can remember. He had his finger (and his nose) in every decision that Bush made. Basically, Cheney ran the country into the ground, and managed to stick Bush with the responsibility.

Regarding Kerry, losing the race for President. Are you saying that Bush won the Presidency with a mandate? Without the mess in Ohio and other states with the voting machines that were flipping names. Without the long lines of people who were turned away from the polls, who wanted to vote for Kerry, Bush never would have won. Now, with a Democratic Senate and Congress, and the number of Democratic Governors increasing in the US, I'm hoping that a paper trail will be required at all voting machines, so people like Bush and the corrupt Republican party won't be able to steal any more elections. Kerry would not have cherry picked intel to go to war. Kerry would not have sent our troops into battle without the proper equipment and Kerry would not have been on vacation while New Orleans went under water.

"Leiberman was the obvious choice for the Dems in 2004. "

Why am I not surprised that you would think that Lieberman, would be a good choice? LOL! Lieberman is nothing more than a political hack who is trying to ride the straddle the fence in order to stay in power. He blows with the wind and changes colors like a chameleon depending who is in power at the time. The only thing he cares about is himself and his own power...just like Bush, Cheney and gang. Of course you would think he's the perfect choice, he's as big a phoney and incompetent boob as Bus is!

So, you think that Edwards is a phoney??? Don't make me laugh. After all these years, watching Bush lie through his teeth, tell the American middle class how much he cares about them as he outsources jobs out of the country, and tries to keep the minimum wage from raising to a livable wage... give me a break! How about the phoney Bush who uses our military as backdrops for his photo ops and then sends them off to war ill-equipped? How about how he is spending time with his family and enjoying the holiday's, while our troops are getting killed left and right? Gee, the big news was that Bush spent 3 hours discussing the war in Iraq and trying to come up with a solution...then goes back to his vacation with his family. Three stinking hours! He's the phony! Just like he did with Katrina, playing his guitar and doing photo-ops was more important than the levee's breaking or evacuating the citizens of New Orleans. Yet, you tell me that Kerry would not have been a good president? Unbelievable!

Oh...and regarding Gore, ummm....global warming? Bush just passed a bill to protect the polar bears who are dying because of global warming. The same global warming that he refuses to recognize because he doesn't believe the scientists. The same global warming that Bush ignores every time he passes a bill that takes away regulations for clean air in his so called "Clean-Air" Act, in order to help the big corporations rake in more dough. Yeah, that Bush, he's a real wonder, isn't he?

Well, I can see why George is confused on the evolution thing. He still hasn't seemed to evolve from the ape stage, himself. He is trying to master the wheel, however. Pretty soon he'll be able to take the training wheels off his bike.