Doug, I'm a relatively liberal guy who respects your opinions and encourages you to speak your mind. You are obviously intelligent and articulate enough that I believe you have thought things through, and I'm willing to accept that you may just change my mind about some issues.

I have to agree with Jed's comment earlier on this thread -- this kind of allegation of past personal transgressions or shortcomings has no place in our political discourse, whether it's about a Republican, a Democrat, or anyone else. The only time I MIGHT be inclined to consider it relevant is when the subject is someone who has chosen to make his own superior virtue a campaign issue. Unfortunately, there's a lot of that going around these days -- if I hear one more politician talk about "restoring integrity to the White House" I'm going to gag. Those who live by the sword should be prepared to die by the sword. But really, I'd rather vote for (or against) people based on their positions and abilities.

Of course, I also consider the source -- and Larry Flint is not on my "most admired" list.