I couldn't make myself watch the whole thing, and wish I'd instead gone to a local concert I was invited to. I'm strongly for Obama, but was depressed to hear very little beyond the familiar Talking Points from either candidate.

A woman, clearly quite nervous, asked a relatively deep question about whether health care should continue to be viewed as a commodity. Neither candidate addressed the question in the philosophical way it deserved--instead, just used it as an infomercial platform for policy prescriptions. Later on, Brokaw tried to get back to that issue somewhat with his question of whether health care is a right, privilege, or responsibility, and once again, although McCain said "responsibility" and Obama said "right," neither candidate did more than scratch the surface. Maybe I'm expecting too much from the format. Or from politicians.

A few minutes later, a man asked very clearly about how today's economic distress will limit the country's ability to serve in PEACEKEEPING missions. Both candidates, and then Brokaw in turn, answered the question with regard to military operations. Yes, of course, it's our military personnel who are doing peacekeeping work much of the time, but I found the avoidance of the word PEACE by both candidates to be very telling. It's apparently the ultimate dirty word in today's thoroughly, reflexively militaristic USA.

That's right, John, don't hedge! So Obama has "probably ensured" that you just might maybe be forced to bring up possibly the Ayers non-issue to his face...whoa, tell it like it is, brother! No idle threats, you betcha! You are an exemplar of straight talk and trash talk at the same time, also! Your semi-promise of the mere possibility of maybe sorta facing down dangerous-yet-respectable, possibly-Arab-but-good-family-man Obama has us all aquiver! Wednesday could not possibly maybe sorta come sooner!

Thanks for this very important post, Glenn. I know there are many Obama/Biden supporters like me who are trying to temper our genuine enthusiasm for a possible political triumph (finally!) with the knowledge that the Democratic ticket still represents the "lesser evil" contingent of a broken system.

I sincerely hope that an Obama win will not lull progressives and civil libertarians into a false confidence that our concerns and priorities will be addressed without constant vigilance. (Obama's FISA vote can't be forgotten, either for its own sake or for what it says about him.) We will need to keep our leaders' feet to the fire at all times. Knowledgeable and honest analysts will have to keep their skills sharp.

(I guess the bad news is, even in the event of an Obama/Biden administration, Glenn Greenwald will not be allowed to take a long vacation any time soon, much as he deserves to....)

No unhatched-chicken-counting, you're right.

But personally I'm trying, in a quiet internal way, to prepare myself for the possibility of a Democratic win. I mean preparation on an emotional level--because frankly, I still ache a bit at the memory of being suckered by Bill Clinton's charisma and intelligence, and then watching dumbfoundedly as he revealed his true triangulating, don't-ask-don't-tell, Jocelyn-Elders-firing, welfare-roll-cutting-without-sufficient-job-training self. But my suckerdom was entirely my fault--I was young and stupid, disgusted by Reagan and Bush I, and I Wanted To Believe (despite a studied air of post-collegial cynicism). The evidence was there all along that Clinton was not some progressive dream come true. It was not helpful or interesting in the least to claim to feel betrayed. If anything, I and many others like me had betrayed ourselves by not paying enough attention.

And that's how I would summarize the emotional message beneath GG's careful and analytical posts, today and every day: Don't stop paying attention.

is this Joe plumber guy a Republican plant? I followed a link to another link to some website called "Freedom Security Matters" and, while I know plenty of educated plumbers, electricians, etc etc, this guy sure seems rather voluminously prepped....

I, for one, appreciate your exactitude as much as your wicked humor and creativity. So thanks for the spelling correction.

FYI in Sanskrit, if I'm not mistaken, "pandita" originally meant "teacher," used in a fully respectful way... Too bad our latter-day pundits have debased the word's origins via their shallow sensationalist sophistry. ...

I was just about to say exactly that--I'm sure Gingrich knows there's nothing actionable here, but is working himself into a kerfuffle to stoke outrage among the Palin faithful. What a farce, truly--absurdist political theater at its most hollow.

First time I saw that movie, in the theater with my husband and an appreciative crowd, I laughed and laughed, thinking it a kind of absurdist masterpiece. Second time, watching the DVD alone in my house, I noticed what an almost unbearably sad movie it is, really. John Cusack's character is self-deluded, painfully cold to his wife, and just terribly trapped by his misplaced ambitions--at first emotionally, and later in a quietly horrific literal way. I haven't seen that same depth of sadness necessarily in Kaufman's other films, but certainly there's an intense poignancy to his worldview. So it comes as no surprise to me that he talks about his youthful obsession with death and dying. It's unusual for an artist to be able to express the pain of our mortal limitations and our self-delusions without collapsing into sentimentality. I look forward to every film he makes.

Just the other day I made use of the word synecdoche in a conversation with a friend...except I sort of stumbled over it and neither one of us could figure out how it's really supposed to be pronounced.