Al: I hate Harper too but think how much worse things would be if his government would have a majority. Also, he's getting away with stuff (or trying to) because Dion hasn't got the leadership instincts or charisma to take him on and exploit his weaknesses.

A minority government can't get away with completely outrageous behavior because (1) it wants to hold on to power and (2) it's hold is relatively precarious. Harper is even starting to show signs of weakening on Kyoto -- he's proposing legislation that would force oil producers in the west to clean up after themselves which is surprising considering his strongest support is from out west. He's got weak support in the east.

As per US politics: A Ralph Nader type party would make a world of difference in a tri-partite government between Republicans and Democrats. The third party would never actually have to lead but could use it's weight to back either of the other parties and force compromises in order to forge alliances.

A very disturbing situation which has been on the rise lately is the tightly-knit associates between government and corporations. It smells a lot like when Church and State were in bed together in the dark ages to exploit the populace. I see where an alternative party would rise to "give power back to the people".

It is a well know fact in politics that repeating a lie long enough, emphatically enough will give it the lustre of truth.

Why did they keep up the myth instead of reporting the facts? She lost Texas.

Neil, read the quote from Chris Matthews I posted on the previous page.

She won the Texas primary. Obama won the Texas caucus. Obama ended up with slightly more delegates.

Ok, since we're both playing this too coy and obtuse and both dropping too many talking points, let me clear this up, Christopher...

It's a shame that what the Democratic party in Florida and Michigan did served to disenfranchise thier voters in terms of the primary elections.

Having said that, they knew the situation - that the states had broken the rules and therefore, would not be counted at the convention, when they voted.

Obama had his name removed from the ballot in Michgan and did not campaign in Florida.

As the votes stand, they would be fraudulent at best if counted.  A re-vote would be fine, but to count the votes now would not be, as you say "counting every vote", it would be breaking the rules.  The people knew thier votes were not to be counted, so even if you want to break the rules and let them be, the result is not the real will of the voters of the states; they knew their votes weren't going to be counted.  Who knows how they would have voted otherwise?  And the results would surely have had been different if Obama had been on the ballot and campaigned in both states.