The guy can't win and neither can Lieberman. Dean's a loudmouth and Lieberman is gutless. We don't need another McGovern; we need a viable candidate, such as Kerry, that can win.

The advocates of peace also need to get real and accept what is going on. They will not stop the war through simpleminded protest that makes them feel good. Instead it will take hard work to energize the electorate on one task: getting Bush out of office.

-- John Crawford

While I am very pleased that Salon is covering democratic dissent (or lack thereof), I am dismayed that Jake Tapper excluded any mention of Al Sharpton from his discussion about antiwar sentiments among Democratic candidates. Unlike his colleagues, Sharpton has not shied away from publicly denouncing the war on Iraq.

In a two party political system that reinforces centrist attitudes, Sharpton stands alone in his willingness to dissent -- even when his opinions run contrary to public opinion polls.

There may be little chance that Sharpton will secure the Democratic nomination, but he still deserves a degree of respect. By discounting his candidacy a priori, this kind of reporting contributes to an electoral system that suppresses debate and marginalizes progressive and minority candidates.

-- Joanna Kempner

What the hell is wrong with you people? So the only presidential candidate with the cojones to seriously criticize our Pretender-on-the-Throne decides to tone down his antiwar rhetoric. Your response? Reprimand him for trying to address the countless real and long-term problems facing the nation.

Dean is right. What can the peace movement realistically accomplish at this point? Is ranting and raving in the streets going to force our current administration to slam the machinery of war into reverse?

You ask your readers for the support of progressive ideas. And then you scold the very man holding the bright torch of liberal thought as if he were a 5-year-old with a box of matches. I think you need to get your editorial priorities straight. 2004 is looming.

-- Alex Goluszko

During the last election cycle Democrat after Democrat fell over each other in an attempt to show solidarity with President Bush. Essentially conceding that the party had no real idea what to do about homeland security, the fight against terrorism and the impending war with Iraq, Democrats did their own little version of soft-shoe around the questions with an "'Atta boy, W!" whenever questions came up.

We, the members of the Democratic Party, need to stop believing that we can dictate to the public what issues are important and need to be discussed. It is the public who demands that certain topics be addressed, and those who ignore their calls will go down to defeat at the polls.

Have we forgotten last November already?

-- Seth Thompson

[Read "Briefing for a Descent Into Hell" by Fred Branfman.]

Oh, man, not again. The aliens are always supposed to be smarter than us. They're always supposed to have better technological knowledge, to be unified politically, and to have all the wonderful social skills we lack. In other words, they are the author's extension of what's supposed to be the ideal social and political order.

It's the big stereotype of science fiction: Either aliens are Nazi invaders ripe for destruction, or utopian creatures of grace that know better than us how to deal with being human.

This is what science fiction and fantasy writers do instead of actually exploring what it would mean to be human or alien in a more constructive, original way -- one that might actually lend insight into our problems, instead of merely putting forward political agendas that beg the question for those who don't agree with them.

-- Stephen Daugherty

Fred Branfman's piece is the most brilliant thing ever on the war. I've been up nights for two weeks, surfing the Web and trying to put it all together. Branfman has freed me. Please thank him for me.

-- Sam Moses

Briefing, continued: Not only is this planet irrational, but you're the most patronizing bastards I've ever encountered!

-- Michael Fallon

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