CNN

What a surprise that the Clinton Now News Network conducts a small sampled poll and Clinton wins.

CNN has lost all credibility with me, because of your biased unbalanced so called coverage of the campaign. Soledad Obrian was very rude to Senator Obama, very rude...she introduced him as if he were the warm up act for Clinton and brashly cut him off as he was wrapping up a point.
Rick Sanchez overspoke a particpant who was praising Barack during an after debate analysis. Any campaign news that you present, ALWAYS ALWAYS begins with Clinton and she receives more coverage than any other candidate.

Clinton has not submitted her earmarks, Senator Obama has. Your level of journalistic integrity is in the toilet. The American public deserves better and it would be laughable if this (and all) elections
were unimportant.

I would like to see the questions, hear the tones and listen to the inflections as you survey respondents.

SHAME SHAME SHAME ON YOU Time Warner and NY 1.

Lance.....I have to say your recent post here was just amazing! If only more voters were half that intelligent we could be on our way to sanity.

Hillary is very good at politics and at handling a campaign. Meaning, she rarely says anything extreme, trying to be classy by saying things like "well, we need to be strong and act strong"... I just don't like those kind of games!

Obama seems to me a much more natural guy. Intelligente and with common-sense. After all, isn't good judgement the basic requirement for a President?

OFF-TOPIC: I must say I am astonished to see some of the comments in this blog. "Most advanced economy", "only superpower left", "land of freedom"....my god are American people aware that there are more countries and continents? The "old continent" has a lot of good things to offer and well, we know who owns the majority of the US public debt don't we?

To Lyons, Steve (1 each)

"If you're lucky, any stupid religious conservative nominated by you elitists
will only lose as bad as Goldwater, the last real conservative.

Goldwater lost in a landslide.
...
you're damn tootin' we need a woman – especially one as intelligent as Hillary Clinton.

If you'll take some time to look into your favorite female candidate's past, you'll see she worked on the Goldwater camapign. She was also president of the Wellesley young Republicans.

You may say, well she finally saw the light!
I say she probably still doesn't know who she is, and we can't afford to have her find out on OUR watch.

Yes, Hillary is intelligent and a good senator, but a "foreign policy expert"?!? Based on what? Her vote for the Iraq war? Her "experience" as First Lady? Her stint on the board of WalMart?

"If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth." – Lenin

Aren't you sick enough of politics being that way?

Barack Obama is upfront, truthful, and brilliant, and is the concensus builder this country needs. His decades of real experience as a federal and state legislator, constitutional law professor, civil rights lawyer, Harvard Law Review president, and community organizer, along with his incredible judgment and insight, make him a real world leader, the leader this country needs to end the games in Washington.
I Am Fired Up!

I wonder if Hillary will be able to campaign while she's out on bail. Does anyone know?

Obama 08! No doubt about it. So Kupta you and Hillary can fix every poll you like but you wont be able to fix the one that counts.

Clinton is doing as well as Lieberman was 4 years ago. I'm thinking she will have the same results.

Polls are very good at showing name recognition. So who is the 1% of people who haven't heard of her? Where have they been all these years while her husband was PRESIDENT?

I think the fact the the neoCon republicans have spent, spent, spent. My tax break is going to the Iraqi people to the tune of $2 billion a week.

Everyone, including McCain, who is the biggest supporter of staying as long as he thinks necessary in Iraq says that Bush bungled for years.

I think the current strategy is going well. We can give the Iraqis one more year to get their act together, then we have to be out. We should start reducing troop levels very soon as the Iraqis take over and be down to minimal security levels within 2 years.

This is the same plan for BOTH the Republicans and Democrats. There is no argument!

So the most centrist republican could beat the most liberal democrat, and any democrat would beat a neoCon Republican.

Who has the most common sense approach and the least divisive political temperament will be the next president. The primaries are critical for both parties.

The more I get to know about her, the more I know she is the right person for the presidency. More should at least give her the decency of listening to what she says. I pride myself on being open minded about all candidates, dems and GOP, down't we owe this country at least that much?

Sen. Clinton has charges swirling around her for unethical and possibly illegal fund-raising (Peter Paul, Hsu, etc.) and you guys are contemplating voting for her to be leader of the free world?

Sen. Clinton is one of the most powerful members of the senate and in seven years she has done absolutely nothing to harness that power for the good of the American people (healthcare, etc.), and you folks are thinking about voting for her?

Sen. Clinton is at the center of American job outsourcing, and you folks are thinking about voting for her?

Sen. Clinton has surrounded herself with unionbusting advisors and you guys are thinking about voting for her?

I don't understand what you guys are thinking about.

Don't get too hung up in these polls. You'll be very disappointed when the real polls come out.

I think many of us are tired of division politics.

It does none of us any good.

We need politicians who want to do the real business of we the people.

Will honesty win ?

It will if WE are honest.

If many of us continue seeking a winner versus honesty we all lose.

""People who own races horses try to own all the ponies in the race. That way they can't lose, while the masses in the stands losa at the hands of these owners""

For many many years thats is what the group Bilderberg has done and so we the people in the stands can't see the bigger picture and most of us get taken to the cleaners.

I am tired of being controlled and the only way we can win is to not play their game and elect a president who isn't controlled by the powers to be.

GOBAMA

Hillary is a left wing Democrat. She polarizes the country....this is NOT someone we want. To Davids point – you need a reason not to vote for her....pick a year...and theres a scandal – look at the universal health care...and she says she can do it without raising taxes – tell the Canadians – they have a 60% tax rate to pay for this. Its a sad day when the Democrats are able to convince people that Republicans eat babies...and don't vote for them...then all the "disenfranchised voters" march to the polls to blindly follow the rhetoric pumped out....its a sad state of affairs...

When I read the comments in these blogs, I am just amazed at the sheer ignorance, the ridiculous reasons people have for choosing a candidate, the total disregard for past events, and I am actually very frightened that some of the people posting here will actually be allowed to vote.

No wonder we got Bush twice.

Is this CNN poll still being done by Mr. Gupta's polling company? If it is then it is laughable because he he is a big Clinton contributor.

Hey Mary,

If "socialist" means all Americans get health care then sign me up. Fortunatly, there are some of us that think that's not too much to expect from the USA – you know – like in God We Trust.

I am shocked that no one has commented on the distgustingly sexist remark made by "Cary." I am a woman, and personally, I am voting for Barack Obama, because I am most closely aligned with his politics and believe him to be the best candidate. In fact, many of my female friends are Obama supporters and many of my male friends are Hillary supporters. Assuming that women will vote for Hillary just to get a female president is assuming that women aren't intelligent enough and well-informed enough to make a decision on merit. Of course, it's also passive aggressive sexism to assume that the only reason Hillary would get elected is because of all the stupid women. Really, if the nation is full of people like this, it's no wonder the sociopolitical tragedy we have endured for the past eight years.

Providence,

Lets go through your argument:

Clinton is inevitable? I don't see how this could possibly be a factual statement. It is just fanciful thinking for those who have decided to stop paying attention.

Clinton is intelligent? So are the other 534 members of the House/Senate. And our president isn't, so that proves that you don't need intelligence to be elected.

Foreign policy expert? Uh, how exactly? She was First Lady for 8 years. I guess that counts.

Charismatic? Yeah, about as Charismatic as a monotone recording of a Millard Filmore speech.

Strong? I don't know what you mean. Can she bench press 250? Or does that mean she stands up to the big bad right wing machine? I'm not sure.

A great leader? I guess if you mean she has been the last one to reveal her plan for...everything. I still don't know anything about her healthcare plan except that it has 10 points, just like all of her other plans.

And lastly, your predictions are uninformed and I wouldn't trust them if you told me that peanut butter would continue to be made with peanuts into the next decade.

Hey, CNN…you're polls are meaningless. Isn't the man in charge of conducting your polls a big supporter of Hillary Clinton?? What a coincidence she always is ahead. Hmmmm….

Posted By Anonymous : September 11, 2007 11:00 pm

I think that you are forgetting the fact that she leads the Democratic field by double digits en every poll conducted in the last few months. Barring any major eventuality, she will be the Democratic nominee, to the chagrin of some and the delight of others.

Tricia in charlottetown said it best.
None of the Republican Candidates will have my vote.
Hillary is Good!
What is wrong with some socialism? We had a mixed economy for years and it worked just fine!!
I just saw in USA Today that the country is moving to the left. Great!
The Right Wing Agenda has been a disaster for the vast majority of Americans! Go Hillary!!

I think Hillary will be a great president. All of her baggage has been exposed over the years and I feel she has gotten her act together. This nation needs a change from the neo-conservatives & religious right who have failed us as a nation. The dems are not perfect but the GOP seem to be more corrupt and there a so many hypocrites in the republican party.

Hillary still beats all of the Republicans in the General also! That's gotta make the GOP cringe. If the Dem's put up there most unfavorable candidate and they still win....it'll be a clear indicator that George Bush has finished the GOP...

It appears that most Americans assess Presidential Candidates on party lines and characteristics that have a semblance of change regardless of whether it be positive or negative!

What would be a real breath of fresh air would be to see comments on this blog supporting Candidates based on Leadership Capabilities and Experience. As given the last eight years of the Bush Reign, to vote for a Candidate who has little of either is to keep America on the road of devastation and in the trenches of Iraq for good.

When I read Americans' comments of Praise for Rudy, Fred, Mitt and Ron the scenes of another four years of world terror loom before me.

I have to wonder if America has even a slight chance of ever restoring their nation or their worldly image.

It's amazing that people would think that women would vote for Hillary just because she's a woman. It's equally amazing that people think that people would NOT vote for Hillary just because she's a woman. I'M NOT VOTING FOR HILLARY BECAUSE SHE'S A SOCIALIST!! AND A SMUG KNOW-IT-ALL SOCIALIST, TO BOOT!!

To Tom, Dedham:

Tom, it should read "general"; not genetal. I posted the correction, but CNN deleted it. However, you sound like you are one of those blind Hillary haters, who does not appreciate anything about Clintons, and I met plenty of them. It is surprising that you live in one of the most bluest state in the country, which is MA. Shoudn't you move to Alabama, Idaho, Utah etc? And stop bashing Hillary and Bill.

Hillary is a foreign policy expert?
Since when??

So CNN polled 456 registered Democrats and used that data to tell America that Hillary is in the lead? LMAO…too funny. I just took a look at the actual PDF document of the poll, and it shows that 23% of those polled either haven't heard of Obama or have no opinion of him yet, due to not knowing him.
Hillary is in the lead because of name recognition…I wish the media would tell people that.

^ Exactly I said the same thing but CNN didn’t post my comment. I guess they didn’t want people to see how I outlined her experience. Like she's not experienced in foreign affairs but marital affairs however she is number 1 in.

Hillary is a seasoned politician and know what to do quick politically. This is exemplified when she immediately returned Hsu's $800,000 while other dem candidates still keep the money.

Of course. She is the best man for the job!!

Hillary or any other democrat will have thier work cut out for them repairing the damage done to the image of our country by the clowns who have blundered thier way through disaster after disaster for the last 6 years. The attack poodles of the right have become just white noise to the american people now and the most qualified candidate may be able to beat the diebold, republican bounce.

I see what you're doing. You're posting all these polls, knowing full well that all they're tracking is name recognition at this point, so that when Obama starts winning the primaries in January, you can put together a lot of dramatic coverage of The Biggest Upset In Political History and get yourselves a big ratings boost and a new batch of awards. Right? I mean, you couldn't be squandering what's left of your reputation out of laziness or even a desire to promote a particular candidate. It's all an elaborate ruse.

Right?

If Hillary is damned intelligent and concerned about America why are their still so many kids in Arkansas in poor families of all different races starving and uneducated and without health care!! Run away Hillary....run away!!!

Posters seem to be getting so mean spirited. I read on the republican tickers and people seem to be mean there, too. Guess it's the season. Ah, well.

HILLARY IS THE EBST WE KNOW IT -SOME PEOPLE REFUSE TO ADMIT IT- THIER JELAOUS-THOSE PEOPLE VOTE FOR REPUBLICAN ARE DESTROYING THIER COUNTRY, THEYRE THE PEOPLE FULL OF HATE.THATS WHY AMERICA IS CRUMBLED NOW UNDER THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.

/***
Clinton that is doomed to fail in general election if nominated.
***/

Um...to whom, exactly? That series of clowns masquerading as Republican presidential candidates? To quote our Worst. President. Ever.:

Bring it on.

/***
Doesn't surpise me – people see her as "seasoned" , and let's face it women see this as "oooohh we've GOT to have a woman president !"
***/

You keep pissing off that women vote, Cary.

And geez – can you blame them? We have a eunuch as president with a corporate criminal, traitor and fascist as the real prez in Cheney – if that's the type of male presidents Americans elect, you're damn tootin' we need a woman – especially one as intelligent as Hillary Clinton.
Obama, John Edwards – also would be good prezzes *or* V.P.s.

Hope you enjoy it all .

/***
CNN doesn't have America at heart otherwise they wouldn't be pushing for Hillary.
***/

You're right. They should be pushing Barack and Obama as well.

Can't blame them for no Repub coverage, tho. Except for Ron Paul, what you have are a bunch of religiously deranged rednecks. Not a brain in the bunch.

Who needs coverage of hog swill? Why, Fox News, of course. Bet you don't have any fight with those John Birchers, do ya?

/***
Hill is the predictable winner in Dem primary, but will get trounced in the general election by ANY conservative who will close the borders and show some restraint in controlling Congressional spending.
***/

HAHAhahahaha. Who do you think has been the BIGGEST SPENDERS IN HISTORY?
George W. Liar and the Republican Congress!

Anne be drinking again.

About Hillary getting trounced: Maybe you've forgotten: criminal Republicans everywhere, some of them homosexuals who voted for hateful legislation against homosexuals and spoke in biblical phrases about the wrath of god, all the while waiting to get caught practicing homosexuality.

The war. It's in all the papers. A criminal enterprise if there ever was one.

Cheney. Single-handedly has returned Hitler/Mussolini-type fascism into U.S. politics not since McCarthy in the early 50s. Biggest criminal currently in government, what with Halliburton, outing a CIA agent, lying about intelligence and getting us into Iraq singlehandedly.

Torture author and Attorney General Gonazales. Karl Rove. Rumsfeld, international reputation destroyer. Condi "Iraq Lie Chief" Rice.

Zero domestic policy, except to enrich large corporations at the expense of ordinary workers. Tried to destroy Social Security, have convinced weaker Americans that it's like welfare when, of course, WE paid for it. The workers.

The spending of $2 BILLION A WEEK ON THE IRAQI WAR, when 45 million Americans are uninsured.

Wherever have you been, Annie? Not paying attention, that's for sure.

If you're lucky, any stupid religious conservative nominated by you elitists
will only lose as bad as Goldwater, the last real conservative.

Goldwater lost in a landslide.

How sad for those of you that are going to vote against Hillary with your statement of "anybody but her". You give zero reason for voting for another person, your only reason for voting is to make sure she does not get elected, get a clue, this is not a high school student government election, grow up and give some backbone to your choices.

CNN, the Clinton News Network

The sad part about CNN and MSNBC choking us with their obvious endorsement of Sen. Clinton is that they fail to acknowledge that Obama and Edward's support also comes from millions of us who only carry cell phones, and for those of you who don't know, they don't call cell phones to poll. I can imagine how different the so called "solid polls" would look if this was the case. It was funny how the same news organizations polled the country and said the Democrats would only win the house and not the Senate.
Trust me, the polls will look very different come January and February.

We're the most advanced economy and the only superpower left on the planet, yet we're still discussing whether a female can be president?! We sit back and call other nations "developing countries" or "second world nations" yet we can't get run an election with a black man or white woman in it without making it about their race or gender. Like Miss South Carolina said, we're "U.S. Americans" a duh. Jeb, get the pick up.

CNN doesn't have America at heart otherwise they wouldn't be pushing for Hillary

I can't wait to vote for Hillary; as a woman i will be very proud to see Hillary as the president of the USA. I hope some of Macho man in this board will recognize and accept Hillary's knowledge, intelligence, experience and passion to work for people and stop to hate her.
These Obama supporters are basically haters, stop hating dudes!!!!!

Hillary is the best candidate this country has...and she has more guts and strength than most of the male candidates running for president...
Hillary all the way......She has my vote and my husbands!!!
Hillary for 2008!!!!!

If people wanted seasoned they'd vote for Richardson. If Hillary were a man, or if Obama were white would anyone be payning any attention to them? Richardson, a great candidate, is getting overshadowed by these celebrity politicians.

I agree with Anybody but Hillary '08. Her voice alone is like a mother-in-law and nobody likes mother-in-law voice.

Hey, CNN...you're polls are meaningless. Isn't the man in charge of conducting your polls a big supporter of Hillary Clinton?? What a coincidence she always is ahead. Hmmmm....

Hillary is a foreign policy expert?
Since when??

So CNN polled 456 registered Democrats and used that data to tell America that Hillary is in the lead? LMAO...too funny. I just took a look at the actual PDF document of the poll, and it shows that 23% of those polled either haven't heard of Obama or have no opinion of him yet, due to not knowing him.
Hillary is in the lead because of name recognition...I wish the media would tell people that.

She needs to go back home (ARKansas) and keep her eye on Bill.

I am not suprise, Hillary is smart and she cares about the country. She will be a great president.

I was just looking through Hillary's closet, and this skeleton popped out:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitewater_(controversy)

Oops. Someone should shove that back in there along with the $850,000 in donations from the criminal Hsu.

Hillary is ethically challenged.

Obama is the best candidate we have right now, and he will win the nomination. Let Hillary and her supporter rest on those poll numbers while we canvass, raise money and spread the word about Barack. Gobama!!!

Providence, I am going to take great enjoyment in cancelling out your vote during the "Genetal" election.

Anybody but Hillary 2008.

Hill is the predictable winner in Dem primary, but will get trounced in the general election by ANY conservative who will close the borders and show some restraint in controlling Congressional spending.

I wish Joe Biden would get more media attention. He is strong on defense, tells it like it is, has more than enough experience, has specific plans re: Iraq and our national defense, and could actually win in the general election. Hillary is too polarizing at a time when we need unity. Biden could pull in many disheartened moderate republicans as well as independents.

Democrats need to focus on winning the general election so we can change the crazy, dangerous road this country has been on the last 6 years. Hillary can't do it unfortunately. I am leaning heavily towards Biden (not that it will matter because apparently Florida won't have a say in the primary thanks to the DNC).

Wake up people, Independent's, DEMOCRAT'S!!! This is really bad news for anyone hoping for change in AMERICA!!! Want more of the same? Keep supporting a Hillary candidacy and we'll get just what we've got now – more of the same Bush propaganda, Republican platform with absolute domination, less constitutional rights for all AMERICAN PEOPLE! Hillary is not an electable candidate!!! We need real change in this country. Support real change and hope for our screwed up (by the Bush Administration) country – OBAMA in 2008.

Hilary Clinton will be the next president of America and it's first female president. This is purely on her on merit. Her record speaks for itself.
She has the breath and depth to lead America and has excellent goodwill from around the world needed to repair American's damaged image abroad.
After making wrong choices, I hope American people will find it easier this time to decifer the good and bad choices and go for the best.

WOW, didn't know CNN will not post anything that questions Hillary's stance or her experience as First Lady. Anyone open to let me know what her experience is, please respond. And try to respond without using First Lady of white house or First Lady of Arkansas. Also, one piece of legislation that she has authored or passed with significane since being elected to Senate seat????

I don't think this polling is terribly fair. It only surveyed registered democrats. Obama's message is mostly targeted towards people who are tired of politics and want a change. These are not typically people who feel so involved with politics that they actually go out and register themselves. If you polled the general population (with a bigger sampling size, too) I'm sure you'd find a much different story.

National polls do not matter, as I and many others say. The early states matter, and they matter the few weeks before they happen. So now we are just riding out until then.

As she said it correctly from day one: she is in and she is in to win.

It is beyond the name recognition stage now. I am impressed with her debates, and how she handles herself in her campaigning. The latest example is her returning over $800,000 contributions from Hsu, while other dems candidates either don't know what to do (aka inexperienced) or just greedy.

Go Hillary Go!

456 people were polled to come up with these results? That's it? How many people do we have again in our nation?

Just wait. Don't underestimate Obama and don't draw your national conclusions from 456 people!

456 people surveyed by CNN? Ha-ha. I really wonder about "scientific" methods used in these polls...just how do you select your sample population?Like – who is available and willing to answer the phone and pick a name while the dinner is getting cold and kids are misbehaving?... How about to compare the ATTENDANCE at political events or number of INDIVIDUAL contributors to candidate's campaign fund? To me that is certainly more significant of real interest and committment and based on that Barack Obama has nothing to worry about...

Lieberman was the "clear national frontrunner" in the national polls in September 2004. Kerry was polling at around 6%.

THESE POLLS ARE MEANINGLESS. I wish the media would stop forcing these polls down our throats.

Lek – face it – she's going to win and obama is not.

How are the people you are polling? I don't know anyone who will even admit to liking her!
I know...it is the old people with rotery phones. Why not try young people with cell phones. You will get a very different answer.

Barring an unpredictable catastrophe or a strong third party candidacy by Bill Gates, Hillary will surely win the nomination and the election. Her campaign is professional, careful, and pretty much flawless. No one has the experience and discipline that the Clinton's do. The other Democrats are amateurish and fumbling by comparison.

The Republicans will spend the entire campaign in a tongue-tied fit trying to run away from images of pedaphile Congressmen chasing interns, conservative Senators attempting homosexual seduction in mens' room stalls, a war in Iraq that is not going to produce any good news for at least a few years, and their shameful performance in Congress where they did everything but put cash registers in their outer offices.

This is too bad. The country will be gridlocked again by the frothing anger that Conservatives feel against the Clintons and the unlimited amount of corporate money that will be poured into opposing any kind of meaningful change.

Bummer.

The grass roots movement will wipe Hillary off the map come primary time. Do not underestimate the power of the people, especially when they're sick and tired of talk out of both sides of the mouth politicians like Hillary Clinton. She has zero integrity and operates in the shadows, and I could care less how intelligent she MIGHT be.

People who meet Obama, like Obama. In the states where he campaigns heavily, he does much better in the polls. I think these are signs that as people get to know who Barack Obama is and what he stands for, he will do better and better in the polls. Clinton may currently have more supporters, but she also has many more people who absolutely would not vote for her, and that is not going to change. Barack Obama is the strongest democratic candidate, and a breath of fresh air – check out his stances on the issues. He has my vote, at least.

Oooh c'mon guys. When the deal is too good think twice. Can't you guys see that something is up here? There is no way that HRC has those numbers. This is just the making of the MSM. They always say that you cannot proclaim victory in the 10,000m race, when you hit the 6,000m mark. The race is won in the last 200 m of the race. So, please....this means nothing at all. When the primaries come..you will all be asking..eeeh..what happened? What did we miss? Where did Obama's numbers come from? Yeah, the MSM will pull their tails between their legs as soon as their prepared HRC coronation report is shred to pieces. Go on and underestimate the will of the people.

That's great ! very glad to know all about the campaign. Hillary will win this election from both party members.

If you make conversations with her, you would understand her better.

We should be very proud of her !

Hillary is one of the most intelligent women in America. She has sacificed most of her personal life and happiness to serving this country. She is a fighter. She is not afraid of criticisms. Go Hillary, go !!

Here we go again – the media making a poll that talked to less than 500 voters seem like it is an accurate reflection of what is happening in the Presidential race.

Let me give you some numbers that represent more people. A phone bank where 500 un-ID'd voters were called, about 40% are undecided – out of those who have made a decision about 75% for Obama a few votes for Edwards, one for Richardson and one for Hillary. A walk where hundreds of doors where knocked on where voters were not yet ID'd – only four Hillary supporters, a hand full of others but most people who had made a decision have decided Obama.

This is what I am finding. This campaing will be won on the ground not in the polls. The medias bias is getting really tiring.

Hillary is inevitable-she is intelligent, foreign policy expert,charismatic, strong, and a great leader. She will win both- the primary and the genetal election. That is my prediction.

Doesn't surpise me – people see her as "seasoned" , and let's face it women see this as "oooohh we've GOT to have a woman president !"

Who cares about the poll? The polls so far is about name recognition.period. The people that were polled are just voting for the name Clinton that is doomed to fail in general election if nominated.

I am sure they will change their mind come primary day.

That night, of September 11, 2001, I walked out of my little apartment in Sherman Oaks and up the main drag on Venture Blvd. There, I found many, many other strangers all doing the same thing. There was such an overwhelming need for community and comfort that night. It was like anything was possible. We'd all come together as a nation and we all looked to our leaders to lead wisely, to show us a way that would stem the flow of blood that we'd just endured.

It was not something George Bush could accomplish in a million years. I prayed for a leader who could see beyond the red haze of hatred, and I hoped I wasn't alone.

But even in the soothing presence of so many that were in need of answers, in need of justice just like myself, I could not shake my unease. I stood next to a storefront on Ventura blvd. all decked out with gory Halloween skulls, along with blasted apart limbs exposing grissle and bone beneath latex. Dangling and mangled feet hung from one window in particular that I could not stop staring in at.

In the window's reflection I could see many cars with screaming people hanging out, honking, waving American Flags as they passed as if to say "you cannot keep us down." There was a traffic jam and it had become an impromptu parade.

It was then I noticed a local news crew. They were interviewing people about their opinions. The question they asked repeatedly; "Should we go to war?"

The answer, again and again, was "yes." At that point, nobody knew who did it or where they were from. All we knew was that we wanted blood, we wanted body parts in windows for all to see, just like in that macabre display behind me.

But as I tell my three year old, what we want is not always what we need. And we all came to learn that the hard way.

I noticed the guy being interviewed on camera was a man I knew. I'd seen him at parties in the area and he was a producer for CNBC, a recent AFI grad. Previously I'd thought of him as a sober, analytical type. But that night he was wearing a Red White and Blue bandanna, an American Flag tie, and an American Flag jacket. He was irate on camera, screaming about how we should be bombing someone for what had been done to us.

I did not blame him. In fact, I felt like hugging him. Yet, in his eyes, I saw everything in that Halloween display come to life. I saw the exact circumstances of the death of liberty, reason and respect. Here was a horrible wish from a good man, who was only human, and was hurt, as we all were.

Next, the reporter interviewed me, and I told him that I thought it absurd to be calling for some nation or another to be bombed simply because, without knowing if we faced an acto of war or a criminal act like what happened via Timothy McVeigh. Was it a nation responsible or a group of criminals? Who knew? I told him to look around at the justified outrage. It was great people were coming together, but was it a rush to answers, or madness?

He responded, "Wow, you're the only person we've interviewed tonight that feels we shouldn't immediately be at war."

I responded, "With whom?" and then I went home.

I went home and I cried. I cried because I could not be sure it wouldn't have been me screaming had some of my best friends not made it out of the situation alive as they just had. It is human nature to take revenge after all.

A good leader should be of a higher nature, and to know that's not what we had, worried me all the more.

As I witnessed the events of the last six years since, I've often thought back to the outrage and community on display that night of September 11th. I've often thought of the macabre window where bodyparts were so glamourously displayed. I've often thought of how we all were marketed that bitter cold meal to follow and how so many ate wholeheartedly of it.

Ever since that night, I've waited. I've waited for someone, anyone of public note to start making sense, to start talking logically again. I've waited for someone to rise above the bickering and fear to take a stand.

In 2004, when I heard Barak Obama speak at the Democratic National Convention, I realized immediately I'd found such a man.

Here was someone that could unite us to fight instead of dividing us to do it. Here is someone who can play to our emotions for good instead of ill, in ways and circumstances George W. Bush never has imagined were possible.

The moment I heard Barack Obama's words I knew they were for me, that he understood the anger, the tragedy, the manipulation of emotion and fear, and that he understood exactly how certain other politicians had used it for their own gain. I understood that he, unlike Bush, knew how to diffuse it. He knew how to bring us back to our senses and out of the realm of senseless violence and fear we'd become so comfortable in.

I believed then at that moment, as I do now, that he would one day soon be President of The United States.

The next time a horrible crime like 911 occurs, we will have a leader that is able to look at the situation not as a tool, or a campaign tactic, or as a call to a fictional global war to benefit a greedy few, but as what it is, a national emergency to be dealt with using level headed strength, integrity and the swiftness that comes only from immense character and good judgement.

If only President Obama had been there so few years ago, what a different world we would have today.

I thought I had lost my sense of hope and imagination for this country in the months since. As time passed I thought we may be doomed to a hell filled with fear, loathing and war without end. I no longer think that. Not a bit. I've regained my fragile sanity at last.

I have regained my innocence through Barack Obama. I have regained my sense that I am not alone in the world with my thoughts, trapped on a body part strewn street corner for all buyers to beware, watching as a great tide overturns all reason and hope.

The tide has turned. We're turning it now, and we'll keep doing so in honor of all those, in the air and on the ground, in New York, Washington, Afganistan and Iraq and across this whole nation and world, that have given their lives and their limbs so that we can get to where we are, which is the most pivotal point in United States History to date. So that we can get to the place that is called change.

The planes missed not just my friends that day, but us all. Fate gave us another opportunity to make a future where planes will never fall from the sky again.

Take it.

Headlines Read: Clinton holds strong lead over Obama....for 456 registered voters.

I wouldn't use that small of a group to measure the opinion of the people working in my building let alone the entire nation.

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they attack you, then you win." Ghandi

We're still in stage 3, but stage four is only a little more than a year away now.
There will be attacks on the poll, sample size, the make-up of the group sampled etc. Then, we'll have the attacks on Clinton; She's dishonest, Vince Foster, her husband cheated, etc, etc. They will say that the democrats are committing political Hari-Kiri if they nominate her, some will insist that they won't vote for her, their friends won't vote for her, that she's too polarizing, that her unfavorable percentage is too high, etc.

Yet, with every poll from every source it becomes more and more evident that, unless one of the two closest rivals can work a miracle, or she makes a HUGE mistake, she is just too strong to defeat in the primaries, and the general election.

Go Hillary Go... Republicans await your nomination. Hopefully Mr Hsu doesn't begin cooperating and divulging his illegal campaign contribution scheme that funneled almost $1 million into your campaign. THAT might not sit too well with voters. Well there is always 2012.