the high school cohort is split evenly (5 points worse than her alone back in April which wasn't her high opint of head to head vs McCain) then it would truly be a landslide, and Obama would be an idiot not to choose her, because I think he can hold onto the college educated cohort just fine unless his VP were someone like Dick Cheney (shudders)

I think she will become a tour-de-force where ever she is.  She has a very rare strength for the democrats these days.

As for VP's I think Clark is a Rock Star  (along with Hillary, Edwards and Gov Kaine {due to the chemistry of the ticket for the Gov}.  Easley would be an above average choice as he would help greatly in Appalachia and with a group Obama struggles with (the 'Bubba' vote).  I am not that excited about Rendell as I think he is too gaffe prone.

Moreover, the primary is behind us. The only person Democrats in that room should be booing at this point is John McCain.

I'm glad Obama called them out.

Obama should be crushing McCain right now. Given how unpopular the president and the Republican party are, and concidering McCain is 71, Obama should be destroying McCain.

Wait until Obama makes it official that he doesn't want Clinton any where near the whitehouse and you will see many more defections. Plus, the Republicans will be airing ads showing Obama's race-bating. That will have an impact as well.

she's more conservative on foreign policy, whereas some of her domestic policies are more progressive than his (healthcare, for example). But overall, they're both centrists. They haven't fully embraced some of the progressive values I hold dear, so in my view, they both trend far closer to the center than I'd like.

But it's true that Hillary is considered "the DLC candidate", which just screams "centrist". Obama is farther left of center than Hillary, but for the most part, they're still in the middle. For all the talk of how liberal Obama is, some of his policies aren't particularly liberal. He has a good liberal voting record, of course (for the most part).

and here's my take (and some won't like it).
The media narratives influence people much more than  most admit.  
Women love Hillary NOT just because she is a woman (because no HRC I know would ever support Liddy Dole or Condi Rice); but because she is a woman who speaks out for women around the world.  Her speech found here

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches /hillaryclintonbeijingspeech.htm

moved so many of us.
Hillary is admired, respected and loved by women around the world.  The disrespect and hate for Hillary is uniquely American and it hurts and it was sad.

Bill Clinton was embraced by many poor (working class) people because he was us.  When Broder and some of his DC friends snidely rejected Bill as not having the "right" to be in the WH, it stung.
Bill grew up poor.  His mother was like many of our mothers.
Hillary grew up middle class at a time when even middle class white girls had to fight the perception that women went to college to get their Mrs. degree, i.e. find a college man to marry.

Yes Bill and Hillary are well off now. I would bet that when Barack and Michelle retire from public office and write their autobiographies, they too will be quite well off.

Bill and Hillary both are flawed.  And that's OK.  Despite their mistakes, despite Hillary's mistakes in her campaign, she is a true champion of liberal causes.

When people speak about her "conservative" foreign policy demeanor, it makes sense.  For Hillary's (and my) entire lifetime, we were taught that to make it in a man's world, one must be tough.  No woman, we heard growing up, could really be commander-in-chief.  We got the message.  So many women my age who advanced to traditionally male jobs/positions of power, took some missteps.  Many thought they had to SHOW their toughness; they had to be tougher on women workers to prove they were not favoring women; they had to show no fear (compassion) at the negotiating table.  Now multipy that to the nth degree where female world leaders have to work with, negotiate with, men who remain conspicuously sexist.   We ALL know there are countries around the world where women are seen as inferior beings; as weak; as unable to lead warriors for the cause.

Hillary was advised, I believe, to exaggerate her ability to be a military leader in order to prove to some she could be as tough as any man.
Part of that was increased since the dems have long been characterized as the "Mommy" party.  Any democrat has to be able to win the votes of at least some of the macho men of the country.

It hurt many women, on a personal level, to hear Hillary called a *itch with either a b or a w.  It hurt to hear it implied she was a racist.  And it hurt for many of us women (of Hillary's age) who marched against war, against poverty, against violence, for women's and children's rights; who worked for democratic candidates for most of our lives to feel that as soom was we got close to victory after decades of knocking on doors, getting out the vote, working for candidates to be told we do not matter...the men, the youth are here to save the day.

Those are my honest feelings and perceptions and may be unpleasant for some to read or invoke anger.  I am voting for Obama and it never occurred to me to do otherwise.  But I am sad, I feel beaten down and for now I do not want to volunteer for the democratic party any more.  I feel betrayed.  I am hoping my feelings will change.  I do not know if they will.

you could be an independent for any reason.

An independent status doesn't necesarily have anything to do with your ideological position .

A few green party voters who I jokingly call communist ( of course they call me names as well ) in Kingston , Tenn are independents.

They are as liberal as they come and yet they think the dem party has sold out .