poor Ashley - I hope

Here's the thing: I really like Ashley Wagner. She's my favorite female U.S. skater who's still in training for the Olympics. Her reputation worldwide has been growing over the last few years. But here's the thing: how can she reasonably be expected to keep her head in the game in Sochi if she can't stand on the podium at U.S. Nationals? So although I really like her, I hope the USFSA - or the USOC, not sure who makes this call - decides to make her an alternate for Sochi. Because as much as I like her, she's done her reputation no favors by coming in fourth at her own Nationals, and I doubt she'd medal at the Olympics now anyway.
Which is not to say that medaling is the only thing that matters, because it isn't. But if no one from the U.S. women's team is likely to medal, then why not just send the three who earned it tonight? I know they're planning to take past competitions into account, but if tonight had ended with Gold, Nigasu and Wagner on the podium, there wouldn't need to be so much debate about it now.
Also, while I wasn't a fan of Tara Lipinski back in 1998, she certainly deserved to be there, just as Edmunds might now.