Thank you Mr. Keillor for your kind words and also your wonderful PBS work. I must take some exception in part to your glowing reviews of my home state. The basis of the California approach in total is the beauty of being American. People have moved here to reinvent themselves. With apologies to to Jimmy Buffett "..we've got earthquakes, fires and mudslides and Sushi in the mall." All true but it wasn't always that way and most importantly the beuaty of this place makes you wonder how you could live anywhere else. It's simply amazing.

And if we're so good, how is it the rest of you are susceptable to the "San Francisco values" BS as apllied my wingnut commentators. The values are that of tolerance and an open society that values diversity and understands that the more diversity, the richer the life. I don't think America gets it really. While listening to a southerner on NPR tell why he wouldn't vote for Obama he said that if Obama gets elected what we will really get in Nancy Pelosi ideas. Quite frankly I'm not sure how that is bad.

We Californiaians understand life, liberty and happiness better than the rest of the nation. Yes we have our own set of problems. If however you've ever seen the sunset in Yosemite, watch the fog roll in at Bid Sur or simply had fresh fruit or vegetables grown in America's garden you know you'd like to live here and those of us that do, honor that. I love this State

We're ready for change, we embrace it and understand that change is the only constant. If we're so good, why aren't the rest of you changing with us. Maybe the rest of you aren't that good?

As long as it is the truth that is being discussed I say keep this news coming. The more the better. I want to be the one(s) that speak the truth. I did a lot of soul searching as a result of the last two general elections. One thing that stood out for me was the tactics of the Republicans. In essence the Democrats brought knives to a gun fight. The Rovian approach is to keep throwing shit at your opponent until somethings sticks. This also creates a mountain of "evidence" that can be fed into the 24/7 news cycle. I hate the tenor of politics currently but as long as the opposition says with a straight face that they have a candidate who indeed has foriegn policy experience becasue she lives next to Russia then it's time to fight this crap with the truth. Great piece Mr. Talbot

So you feel the Democrats don't deserve the power an Obama administration would bring? So I guess you feel that with all the fine leadership the Republicans have provided over the last 8 years that they do? Just how many financial disasters, military disasters and Katrina like disasters does it take before your reject the Republicans? I suspect there is something else going on here.

One of the lines that caught my eye is the phrase"...in every state that matters to us...". As a citizen of one of the states I'm sure that doesn't matter (California) I find it extremely telling that that is how they phrase it. Governing and caring about all the people has clearly gone by the wayside in the never ending grab for the power that the GOP hates because "Government is the problem". As the lies and falsehoods begin to catch up with the GOP and the complete failure of all the conservative philosophy comes to the forefront, I wonder if the damge inflicted can be repaired. Obama will have his work cut out for him as President because now the Republicans have wrecked the economy. As my Dad use to say "we'll see".

One of the things about getting pundits together is that they essentially all think in a like minded way. A quote from General George Patton, to paraphrase "When everyone is thinking alike, someone isn't thinking" sums up this discussion for me. I agree that most often the debates are a minor distraction. This election cycle with McCain in a clear state of panic and not afraid to bet the house, it promises to be an interesting and deciding factor. McCain is a wodden generally unlikable sort with the polls going the wrong way for him. Palin is so scripted and unprepared, that her handlers go apoplectic when she is asked a question. From my point of view these debates are Obama's to lose.

When the GOP is losing. They try to make a big issue of tangent issues and then they start calling people, even their own, names. The GOP has been in charge of Congress for years, big business has been deregulated to the point where the SEC doesn't have tha much to do anymore. That rumble you hear in the distance is a conservative era ending landslide. It's the economy stupid.