They do always age a lot. Except for Reagan (who was clearly dyeing his hair), they all leave office gray.

Is a right only a right if it's in the Constitution? Hmmm. After all, the Equal Rights Amendment was never passed, but I think most agree that women have rights equal to men.

Yep - and Reagan left with freaking Alzheimer's, so I think he supports the general rule too. ;)

Again, this is definitely an issue where we're all using a different definition of "right."

Legally, something is only a "right" if it is protected or guaranteed by government mandate. However, obviously there is a more 'colloquial' sense that is just as (if not more) important to most. Which one do we want the Presidential candidates to deal with? I'm not 100% sure I know how I feel, to be honest.

I agree Ksig RC. It was primarily a rhetorical question, but we DO have a lot of attorney's and law students here and I do notice that they have a different perspective on many of these issues because of their law oriented mindset. Wikipedia talks about moral rights and legal rights. Both are valid in different situations.

McCain needs to take the advice of the conservative side of the media. Read the end of this article: http://spectator.org/dsp_article.asp?art_id=14019, it's not enough to say Obama's radical and talk about the economy separately, he needs to tie them together, and the suggested speech at the end of that article shows very well the kind of things he needs to be saying.

While that may solidify McCain's conservative base, it's not going to swing people over from Obama to McCain. Here is another paragraph from the article:

See, some of us feel like Obama is FINALLY someone who can empathize with us and who FINALLY understands how we feel and sees the world from OUR point of view. That's why he feels like a breath of fresh air to us.

dang....please get out of my head.....LOL

In short...from what Obama has said about his life, he knows what it means to struggle...he knows what life is like for the average American....McCain can't say that...almos goes back to the argument...If you don't know how many houses you have...how can you be in touch with the man about to lose his ONE house?

I think most agree that women should have equal rights to men. I think many would disagree about whether they in fact do in all situations.

Agreed, and just to get a little more lawyerish about it, what lyrelyre said was:

"Fundamental right" is a legal term of art; a fundamental right is a right that is derived, explicitly or implicitly, from the fundamental law of the land -- i.e., the federal Constitution or a state constitution.

Lyrelyre is quite correct that no fundamental right to education can be derived from the federal Constitution. My point was simply that such a fundamental right can be derived from some state constitutions.

Ugh. I guess 'living' in a POW camp for 7 years isn't struggling. Poor baby, Obama, had to go to Harvard on financial aid. Maybe I'm just not seeing everything, but McCain has fought FOR EVERYONE both overseas and domestically. I see lots of arguments 'defending' Obam's positions on votes he's participated in (and most that he's abstained on http://www.opencongress.org/people/v...9_barack_obama all the way down to the debateability of his citizenship. I just don't get it. I live in NY (coming from TX, what a difference a liberal state makes), and I work in the financial services industry. I met with 3 separate clients last night, all professionals who are TERRIFIED if BO becomes president. Not everyone is clammoring for these 'changes' that Obama promises (although I believe it to be with fingers crossed behind his back!)

Look at the rest of the world right now. The US is starting to self-destruct itself with all the 'political correctedness' bullshit. While we're fumbling in the dark trying to get our shit together, do you think that Russia or even China aren't plotting to become the new super power.

I will be VERY surprised if (and I've said it before) Obama actually does something productive while in office, or doesn't send the entire population into a tailspin with all of his promises. I'm voting for McCain, because he also preaches that change is needed, but he doesn't propose doing it overnight, as is BO's MO. I think we need change too, but it needs to be gradual. It took us a LONG time to get to where things are now, the brakes just cannot effectively be slammed and 180ed. There is so much going on, that I prefer to have someone OLDER and more experienced helping to make those decisions. I really don't have the time to be chasing some young, wannabe all over the effing country trying to make sure I'll be okay...oh because he knows what it's like to struggle? I'm reading all the bios I can find, and I just don't see anything that really indicates a struggle.

I think it's great that everyone gets so involved in this election, because it is so important. I just get so worried about the rationale some people have for choosing Obama, as I'm sure that many of you have for us choosing McCain.

Political correctness is destroying the America?

I'm guessing that when people talk about struggling in this context, they mean struggling to make a living. I'm also guessing that lots of voters think that someone who can't seem to remember how many houses he currently owns does not know what it's like for many American families today.

I have the utmost respect for John McCain for his military service and his time as a POW. (And it was 5+, not 7, years, but regardless.) I'm not sure though, that experience gives him particular insight into the everyday struggles of many Americans. And sometimes I tend to think it gives him a less than objective view of foreign policy.

Very true, although just as you've qualified it by saying "some people have for choosing Obama," I'd qualify what you said about yourself by saying "some of us for choosing McCain." There are reasonable and unreasonable rationales for choosing either one.

Oh, really? The "average American" doesn't have two Ivy League degrees or a high school education from one of Hawaii's top prep schools. The "average American" doesn't own a house worth $1.4 million. The "average American" cannot send two children to private school. There's a huge difference from coming up in a working-class family (as Obama seems to have) and ending up in the upper-middle class than to be born poor and stay poor.

I'm not saying that McCain is in touch with the "average American" either, but let's not kid ourselves and say Obama is Joe Six Pack.

I sure as heck wouldn't want Joe Six Pack running our country!

To an extent, yes. I think we've gotten so bogged down in making ALL the people happy ALL the time, that the reality of those battles is eating us up. It just seems like nothing can get done fully in this country without someone somewhere having hurt feelings.

I recently read a quote from 2003 from a Rep. Melvyn Watt "In 2003 Watt vehemently opposed efforts by the Bush Administration and Congressional Republicans to increase regulatory oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. "I don't see much other than a shell game going on here, moving something from one agency to another and in the process weakening the bargaining power of poorer families and their ability to get affordable housing" Uh, yeah, now NOBOBODY without a 800 credit score is going to be able to get a loan. It's like, 'God forbid we tighten the rules for a few people right now, to protect the economy and the rest of the people.' It just keeps happening that we always seem to have to help and maneuver to 'save' the people who screw up their own lives without rewarding the ones who work hard at keeping their stuff together.

I know that I sound mean, selfish, nasty, or whatever, but I'm so sick of working my ass off to pay for the mistakes of others. I'm not saying we should be communist or whatever, but does anyone else think that there is such a thing as TOO free? When does that freedom turn into entitlement?

LOL. Which is one reason I continue to say that choosing Sarah Palin as your running mate =/= "Country First."

Neither would I! But, we can't let ourselves get wrapped up in this image of Obama as the blue-collar savior, that because he only has one house that he's like the "average American." No, he's above average, just like John McCain.