new Times comment submission, Oct 11th

The following entry does not seem to have made it to the "Gray Lady" along with many others, no doubt along the same lines. But I don't think the "ostrich" (as opposed to "frankrich"?) attitude of the Times is very helpful:

I do worry about the safety of Obama and I think with good reason. I think the mental instability of McCain and many of his supporters is not reassuring particularly when Barack, a previously comparatively unknown Junior Senator from Illinois, suddenly pulled ahead of a candidate who hoped to sew up the presidency for herself and now, against all odds but with the help of a deteriorating economic situation, he has again pulled ahead of his equally deteriorating opponent to the likely fury of that candidate and his followers.

Even if conventional wisdom insists a black man cannot win the Presidency in this country, that is fast becoming the reality in this election.

I certainly hope the Secret Service and the others who protect the candidates are up to this task. We as voters cannot afford to worry about that or by the threats that the sometimes severely unbalanced supporters of a somewhat unstable candidate might pose.

Obama/Biden '08

— Edward Gold, New York, NY