This election again offers a choice basically between only two candidates. Each one regularly presents their respective constituency with procedural, policy, and other reasons to vote against them.

Still, recent history suggests only two choices are viable and that most voters will vote for one or the other. Despite differences and disagreements with a particular candidate, voters are more likely to vote for the viable candidate that best represents their beliefs.

Ralph Nader's legitimate response to his critics that he brought out new voters who would not otherwise have voted is no longer relevant. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama helped bring out new voters who were energized to vote for a historic Democratic president.

Even Ron Paul ended his bid for the Republican nomination. Where his votes will go, though, no one knows. Some experts think they will slide to John McBush. Others suggest Libertarian candidate Bob Barr or Constitution candidate Chuck Baldwin.

Few apparently believe Obama will gain many.

Barack Obama now is the presumptive Democratic nominee. Despite its length and the animus generated during this nomination process, we must not forget its monumental character. This indeed is a historic occasion.

Emphasis, however, must be placed on the word "presumptive." Several pundits are suggesting Hillary Clinton might not have given up the ghost just yet. Anyone listening attentively to her speech last Tuesday also might harbor reservations about her intentions.

Tonight, America bore witness to the real differences between the remaining candidates for the Democratic Presidential nomination. Senator Hillary Clinton gave a speech in New York basically thanking all the people who helped her “stay the course.” She actually borrowed the military phrase used by Bush and his cronies of death to justify continued occupation of Iraq by the United States. She indirectly likened her campaign for the nomination to the ongoing horror show in Iraq. I was appalled. Just like Bush refusing to admit failure, Clinton alluded to the possibility that she might continue to stay the course and take this fight to the credentials committee and the Democratic National Convention (as her spokespeople explicitly stated this past weekend) .

As a native of Massachusetts and a longtime fan of its liberal icon, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, I was saddened to read about his sudden illness this morning. As many of you probably already know, the good Senator suffered “stroke-like symptoms,” though recent reports from a family spokesperson indicate the cause of his hospitalization was more likely a “seizure.” He was transported to a local hospital from the Kennedy compound in Hyannisport and then transported to Boston’s Mass General via helicopter.

Yesterday’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos again revealed the terrifying possibilities of another Clinton administration. The show’s format amounted to an hour-long campaign ad for the Clinton campaign. Rather than its usual lively mix of interviews, humor, and spirited dialogue, This Week was transformed into a town hall meeting for Tuesday’s primaries in Indiana and North Carolina: only one interview (with Hillary Clinton), little humor, and a series of canned campaign messages delivered with her usual aplomb. She responded to each question with well-rehearsed sound bites, canned bon mots, and her tired repertoire of platitudes—in other words, just another stop along the campaign trail.

Lost from the show was Stephanopoulos’ usual tight control over his interviewees, with little of his now-legendary tough, incisive questioning on display. Everyone recognizes his strong allegiance to the Clintons and this connection was offered as a sort of disclaimer at the beginning of the show. Clinton even made a “joke” about it, celebrating (or perhaps lamenting) his new-found journalistic “objectivity.” Objectivity, journalistic or otherwise, is chimerical. Bias constitutes most human existence, for better and worse. I applaud his caveat. If it has not become apparent yet, I am usually a strong supporter of Stephanopoulos and an ardent supporter of Obama’s. Nonetheless, yesterday’s show was a travesty, in design and execution.