Now let me get this straight: Mr. Douthat wanted sick old Dick Cheney to run for president in 2008 so he could lose by a landslide and remake the Republican Party as a more palatable (to him) conservative entity? As opposed to the "mavaricky" McCain (a closet liberal)?

What has Ross been drinking? Or is he trying to define himself as a "good" conservative as opposed to the wacky Dick? And hoping his brand of "sensible" conservatism wins out over that of Cheney and Company?

Cheney could not have handled the physical requirements of a campaign which even McCain was barely able to. And I doubt the GOP would ever have nominated him as they were trying to distance themselves from the Bushies.

As for saying that the Democrats would be out of their minds to investigate torture in the Bush Administration, I would only say that I think this is out of their hands. I believe that it will be investigated whether anyone of any party likes it or not; too much has come out already.

I think Ross Douthat is in the unenviable position of trying to make lemonade from the lemons that he has inherited, but I don't think this is a very auspicious beginning for his tenure at the Times.

— Edward Gold, New York, NY

Apparently, my comment on Ross was too negative for the Times as it is nowhere to be found. No matter, I've put it here.

It really is too bad that the "Gray Lady" feels it necessary to cover up its poor judgment in its choice of columnists.

Mr. Rich is right on the money! There is no doubt that the Bushies wanted to sell a war in a country which was absolutely unrelated to 9/11 and, to that end, would stop at nothing to establish a fake connection between Al Quaeda and Iraq.

Mr. Obama's administration released the torture documents and Barack has got to be in a state of denial if he thinks there will be no consequences and we should "put this all behind us". Too late for that!

Yes, Rich is correct in writing that none of this information is new but bluntly exposing this to the public view now, I think, has only one purpose.

Obama is a bright man and he knows what he is doing, even if he says the opposite of what he knows is going to happen.

Let the investigations and the trials begin!

— Edward Gold, New York, NY

I did see a good deal of the inauguration on a large screen TV and have had many thoughts on it. Due to certain obligations, I have delayed writing about it. So, I am making up for it now:

I have to agree that too much is expected of Obama. I don't understand why people expect perfection from him or why they expected the whole ceremony to run without a hitch.

Why, for instance, was so much typing expended on the flubbing of the oath? Though clearly messed up by Chief Justice Roberts, it only proves that both he and Obama are human and ascribing it to Roberts' pique at Obama for not supporting him for his candidacy for the Court is foolish. In any case, the oath was later repeated just in case and, as far as I know, no harm was done.

Aretha Franklin's hat was another case in point. It didn't bother me at all but maybe her singing did. I'm told by those who love her, that she is now a shadow of herself vocally but I didn't think her incessant shouting was appropriate to "My Country 'Tis of Thee". Maybe something else would have been more acceptable to my taste but I'm not a fan and am not likely to become one in the future. Sue me!

Yo Yo, Itzhak and company did their best in the extreme cold and it is understandable that they were dubbed. John Williams' composition, partly based on "Simple Gifts", was okay but probably forgettable in the long run. Aaron Copland used the same tune in his famous ballet "Appalachian Spring" and maybe Mr. Williams was unwisely inviting comparisons with the older and better work.

Bush '41 looked quite feeble but the other presidents and vice-presidents merely looked old except, perhaps, for Bill Clinton. Richard "the Dick" Cheney appeared in a wheelchair and, if this was indeed a ploy to get sympathy as others have suggested, he didn't get mine.

I could do without the dwelling on how Barack and Michelle are such a "loving couple" and how cute the daughters were. I thought Rick Warren neither disgraced nor distinguished himself with his invocation but I can easily live without this "holy" phony.

Since the inauguration, we have been inundated with opinions on Barack's actions pro and con. I still say wait and see; yesterday was, after all, only his 5th day (or 4th complete day.) as president. For the moment, I can only say that, predictably, I agree with some of the things he's done and disagree with others.

Par for the course.

Though I haven't finished my editing yet, I am fairly close and thought that, in this season I should give thanks where thanks are due. So I'm posting this link which shows how many of us are thankful on the eve of Thanksgiving.

This is similar to my thankfulness to our Vice-President for his endorsement of the McCain-Palin ticket. Felicitations to Sarah and the Dick for their recent contributions to our wellbeing. And thank you to our "awesome" Commander-in-Chief for adding his customary verbal skills and erudition as shown in the same article.

"Awesome" indeed!

Love you all!

Believe it or not, the GOP party faithful love Sarah and want her to run in the next election for president! Since Sarah showed herself to be such a "formidable" running mate in '08, by all means let  the GOP nominate her for first place in the next big election.

I'm sure the Democrats are quaking in their "elite lib'rul" boots (or at least Birkenstocks!) at such a prospect. Because, she talks to Jesus who has really supported her in the last election!

She has proven herself as John's running mate so let us all support the "pit bull with lipstick" from Wasilla, a true proponent of "family values" for the Republican nomination in '12.

Viva Sarah!