1. Fall back on the traditional Ubermom stance and simply say FINE when the person who needs your specific help most goes out of his way to reject it. And plan to be on the furthest possible point on the planet when he wants it.

2. Realize what assets you have to offer the opposition and that a bi-partisan ticket, besides being the most historically progressive thing that could ever happen to this country, is not just a particular sweet chilly form of revenge, but the obvious winning ticket.

3. Realize tha you will be blamed no matter what, and suddenly discover that your real interests lie in your state constituents and your family. A husband who is about to feel conveniently unwell (and mutely beyond commenting) and a daughter you want to write a book with and keep busy and out of the limelight.

4. Be available when the candidate that was foisted on everyone publicly proves to be the very bad idea everyone has been saying in private all along.

5. Be graciously non-committal to all those sites advising people how to write-ion your name on the presidential ballot on Election Day.

6. Realize that there are millions of people, like the author writing this, who are grateful to you for showing them by example what a terrible idea it would be to vote for a misogynist that isn't much different than the average ayatollah when it comes to silencing women. I guess it is just as true in Arab countries as it is here that there are women themselves willing to collude in that.

Who Knew?

7. Have an acceptance speech handy when everyone comes to their senses and realizes you and your husband are the two people most experienced and best equipped to solve the multitude of crises at hand.

8. I can't figure out Number 8, Since Truth is proving a lot stupider than Fiction. You can't make up how foolish our choices have been so far.

-gala1

I'm writing-in Hillary.

You should check out how to do the same in your state.

When Obama needs advice on how to avoid imaginary sniper fire, i'm sure Hillary will be there....................or will she ?

I'm sure that when Obama needs advice becuase he's SO inexperienced he rivals that of W's ineptitude - no one will be there except Rev. Wright.

You forgot:

Let your supporters go thermonuclear, splitting the party forever. Make sure that the Democrats cease to be a vehicle for women candidates, black candidates, or any candidates. Get those supporters to align with white men, against women of color, ensuring that the split in feminism is permanent. In short, ruin every institution promoting Progressivism so that an old-fashioned right-wing Republican can win.

Because we really need Republicans in charge of the EEOC, the Justice Department, the NLRB, HHS, and Interior. And a Supreme Court Justice who doesn't believe in the right to privacy, allowing Roe and Griswold to be overturned. You go, grrrl!!!

In my state, only registered write-ins count. That is, wirte-in candidates apply to get added to the ballot by a certain deadline, and I think require X number of signatures. It would be a bigger waste of vote than voting for Ralph Nader to write in someone not listed.

Rather than casting a wasted protest vote, why not instead vote for the better of the viable candidates - in your opinion, and hope that the individual better for the country will win? If the worst people always win the elections because of wasted or non-cast votes, everyone loses.

In fact, if I was going to waste my votes anyway, why not just stay home like all the other losers?

Incogneato:

My write-in is there precisely since I consider neither of the current candidates viable.

Frankly, what I consider this election to signify is that the two-party system has failed us in a time of crisis..

When we have to rely on either the same old stale GOP status quo that that served us so horribly and created every problem we now have, or the even more depressing option of a totally inexperienced self-promoter of a junior senator, no tangible accomplishment other than ambition, whose concept of entitlement is on the job training in the White House, than I do not consider not voting for either of them wasting my vote.

Wasting my vote would be voting for either of them

I am casting my vote for Hillary Clinton. It's mine to use most appropriately and in good conscience, unless she runs with McCain and does us all a favor by reigning him in, I can't vote for either candidate.

It's a moot point anyway since Obama is unelectable.

What Flyover resident with so much in the way of hard life experience behind them can relate to Obama in any way? Left alone vote for him. These are the people who would never ask for entitlement. And don't think much fo those who wallow in it.

Just because the Democrats have foisted another unsuitable candidate onto the ticket doesn't mean any of us have to vote for him.

As will be seen too clearly on election day.

When, on the very first day, the objection is no experience, the same asking people who haven't been shown anyone with experience are going to vote for the candidate who has the most.

Why wouldn't they?

And that's not Obama.

But you'll be too busy blaming Hillary Clinton for Obama's loss to comprehend that, won't you?

-gala1

Well, when you have an argument as intellectually bankrupt as, "I won't vote for him, because he's unelectable," you have obviously moved into a post-factual world, but just in case you're curious Obama did better than Clinton in "flyover country," so if either Democrat had a weakness there, it was her. Also, Obama has a slight (in some cases statistically insignificant) lead over McCain. His negatives are nowhere near the 49% that Clinton's are.

a totally inexperienced self-promoter of a junior senator, no tangible accomplishment other than ambition,

As a Clinton-supporter, you should be comfortable with a candidate who fits that description.

It's a moot point anyway since Obama is unelectable.

The latest poll I've seen (yesterday's WSJ), had Obama polling at 47% to McCain's 41%. That doesn't sound too "unelectable".

When, on the very first day, the objection is no experience, the same asking people who haven't been shown anyone with experience are going to vote for the candidate who has the most.

Why wouldn't they?

And that's not Obama.

That wouldn't have been Clinton, either, if the race was Clinton vs. McCain. It's utterly ridiculous for her or her supporters to pull out the "experience" argument when arguing that Obama can't beat McCain. If "experience" is the metric, then Clinton wouldn't have been able to beat him either.

Let's face it, the top three Democratic candidates didn't have much in the way of experience. The experienced ones-- Dodd, Biden, Richards-- all dropped out early on.

for my homecoming queen.

She will always be MY queen.

two shits about their political opinions.

1. Keep political columns out of Dear Prudie.

2. Do not link any politcal columns to Dear Prudie.

3. Link political columns to the other 10 Slate political boards.

Lita Ford is awesum! She still looks great too.

gala1:

When we have to rely on either the same old stale GOP status quo that that served us so horribly and created every problem we now have, or the even more depressing option of a totally inexperienced self-promoter of a junior senator, no tangible accomplishment other than ambition, whose concept of entitlement is on the job training in the White House, than I do not consider not voting for either of them wasting my vote.

I think I see the problem.

See, a lot of us think the GOP status quo is a LOT more depressing than the available alternative.

Which is, when you remove the right wing propaganda such as "totally inexperienced" and "no tangible accomplishment", and the qualifiers that apply equally to Hillary such as "entitlement" and "on the job training", is an intelligent, rational, thoughtful, articulate and charismatic candidate who beat the vaunted Team Clinton for the Democratic nomination, and a president who will go a long way to persuade the world that the US Commander in Chief does not inevitably have to be a warmonger and/or a moron.

But if you see that as the lesser alternative to four more Bushlike years, then by all means vote your conscience. It can probably use the exercise.

mikestand-

Thanks for illuminating all my mistakes.

I stand corrected.

Obama is not there as a result of an accretion of entitlement. I can't imagine how I could see him distinguished as anything else..

.And his many accomplishments are so tanglible that you have no need to list them. So you haven't.

But what you who are slogging away at the keyboard are just too partisan to admit is that the great bulk of America that neither knows or cares what it is to blog just aren't going to vote for your guy.

Believe it. Don't. It won't make a difference on Election Day.

I live in a Flyover area. So traditonal the GOP here sees Kerry as a dangerous radical threat they valiantly overcame.

Good luck getting this county to not roll their eyes when they hear the word Obama. Let alone vote for him.

What you are not getting is it is not about Obama as a person. It's that the perceptions of him aren't just all true.

Entitled., Inexperienced . Divisive. Unrelatable. Delusionally enabled in a bubble of True Believers.

It's what we've had for the past eight years. It's not McCain that is percieved as more of the same.

Even if we weren't in crisis, You couldn't get the Flyover to go for him. But we ARE in crisis. And why the Democrats can only offer up such another Alice in Wonderland unsuitable choice will be the question you can once again ask them on Election Day .

When they'll lose again.

Obama lost this race the day his handlers thought they could get around the clamor over his inexperience by making this about race . And his short-comings by demonizing a woman competitor into acceptable mysogyny. He had a moral choice he could made made then. To not let this election stand for either. He didn't make it. And we all know it.

To fall into line behind him is to enable all that.

Some of us aren't going to do it. Moot point. It's the inexperience that will lose the election for him anyway

I can't figure out why you think that this will go away, women will fall into line and that no one will go for the write-in option.

Whatever your answer, President McCain will thank you for it.

I am just going to show everyone I can how to write in Hillary and consider that my patriotic duty.

You can foist Obama onto the ballot . But you can't force a nation to vote for a candidate that's a two year junior senator who has utilized every perk to get himself that far . And done it by so gracelessly trashing an older woman.

As far as Obama being the lesser of the two, well yes he is. That's why he's not going to be elected by a country that expects the familar to be the reliable.

A lifetime of marketing is how they got that way. And plan to stay that way.

You made the wrong choice. In November you'll get to see that in action.

-gala1

So we can't count on your vote then...?

gala1:

Obama is not there as a result of an accretion of entitlement. I can't imagine how I could see him distinguished as anything else.. that's strange; I thought it was because he actually won the democratic primary according to the established rules. could've sworn I saw it on tv.

.And his many accomplishments are so tanglible that you have no need to list them. So you haven't. since when the accomplishments (or the lack thereof) matter in what constitutes an effective president? governor of arkansas? president of the screen actors guild? you ever read Lincon's pre-presidential resume? a very quick read, yet...

I live in a Flyover area. So traditonal the GOP here sees Kerry as a dangerous radical threat they valiantly overcame. Good luck getting this county to not roll their eyes when they hear the word Obama. Let alone vote for him. he doesn't need many of their votes to win & he's already making inroads

Obama lost this race the day his handlers thought they could get around the clamor over his inexperience by making this about race . And his short-comings by demonizing a woman competitor into acceptable mysogyny. i must have missed his insults about her age and gender. please reference them next time. perhaps they aired at 3 AM?

I am just going to show everyone I can how to write in Hillary and consider that my patriotic duty. yes, to flush your vote down the toilet. truly admirable. somewhere, john anderson is softly weeping...

You can foist Obama onto the ballot . But you can't force a nation to vote for a candidate that's a two year junior senator who has utilized every perk to get himself that far . And done it by so gracelessly trashing an older woman. perks?

-gala1

you, my friend, are one angry lost soul...