Joan, you are way off base in trivializing this series of editorials as a food fight. Brooks' is white washing Reagan's use of racism and Herbert and Krugman are rightly calling him on it.

Sorry, Joan, but I still disagree with your premises and your conclusion. Of course Krugman and Herbert are liberated to write about the unfolding outrages of 2007 but I see their responses as both warranted and consistent with their previous op-eds. Krugman in particular has been steadily pounding on the state of conservatism. Since the perception of where that state is now is being constantly distorted by faux news networks and pro-conservative mouthpieces, how could two of the best liberal writers not respond to their neighbor's blatant end run to rewrite the path of conservatism.

You guys make my day.

Drew

Trying to stir up a charged political conversation is always fun but it doesn't replace the solid opinion pieces and political reporting that seem to be consistently missing on weekends (except for Glenn Greenwald), when Salon goes limp with lead stories about movies and tv?

Good for you Garrison. That's a refreshing change from your tepid, don't-insult-anybody radio show.

I once had a 5 mm allen wrench confiscated by airline security. They offered to let me take it back to the check-in counter and put it in my luggage but I figured these folks are on the front lines. You never know when they may need that little baby to fight terrorists.

Try branching out more, King. If you knew more about bicycling, you wouldn't be excited about a fight breaking out at a WNBA game. Well, maybe you would if you think fighting spices up sports.

Dowd, The Mistress of the Morality Play, can be entertaining but her snarkiness became increasingly shrill, sniveling and irrelevant -- particularly as she carped about Clinton's ankles being too thick. I needed to move on.

Does anyone else think this choice of running mate is surrealistic? It reads like a 1950s musical. In fact, I can see it opening on Broadway.

The "Unsinkable Sarah Palin" becomes President on a rebound vote after John McCain stroked out at the Mustang Ranch while campaigning in Las Vegas. Equipped with just a disarming smile and a killer crossover dribble...

Joan, if the Dems spend time going after Palin, who is a fairly transparent pick, they would be taking their eye off the ball. They should be relentlessly attacking McCain and hitting him with everything they have.

It's depressing to see how well the Palin selection fits this sound-byte, reality-tv-based era where the actor steps on stage and immediately assumes the mantle of an accomplished pol. McCain, though physically untelegenic, also carries a carefully crafted image, that of straight-shooting maverick, long after it's reflection of reality has faded.

Ultimately, the Dems need to attack not the historical record of either candidate to crack those images but the unwritten part: what the US would be like after four years of McCain.

Don't expect less from the Repubs, nor will they be hampered by boundaries of truth.

Joan, my guess is the strategists are using 2 of the then 9 weeks before the election to cram Palin full of world and Republican "facts" for little things like debates. She can't possibly catch up to Biden's 28 years of experience and knowledge of foreign affairs, but she won't need to to go toe-to-toe. The minimum amount of required knowledge is getting the countries and leaders right. Even McCain can't keep the Shia and Sunni straight.

This Republican ticket is so disheartening. Is this really acceptable to 42% of the voting public?

When Palin was cloistered for weeks of cram sessions, had she been actually qualified, her handlers would have been prepping her on McCain's positions. Instead, they had to prep her on national politics, foreign affairs, and the economy.

How, then, do you feel sorry for someone who is aggressively seeking the VP office but whose gibbered responses to softball interviews indicates that she knows less about national politics than, say, your average Salon reader?

Biden was spot on tonight -- crisp without being condescending. He steadily peppered McCain with jabs until Palin's plastic jaw was exposed. One of Joe's best shots was "facts matter" and then he showed why. He also worked between rounds at overcoming his opponents' shortcomings by citing legitimate differences in positions while Palin powdered her nose.

Buchanan can occasionally be insightful but at other times appear to be in a listless malaise. This was one of his worst appearances ever. Made me wonder why he ever gets airtime. Your best response, Joan, was that his comments were beneath him - that was so much better than pointing out his reversion to racism.

Glenn,

Sometimes the focus of your outrage is way too myopic. Two days before the election, we should be focused on preventing dirty tricks, disenfranchisement, and stolen elections instead of the bloviations of Joe Biden.

Glenn, I would argue that Bush's approval ratings would not be anywhere near 25% without the support of propaganda media (like Washington Post and Fox News), the phony balancing of opinion reporting (like NPR), the constant drumming of supportive war mongers (like Krystal and Kagan), and the general overall lowering of televsion reporting to roughly the same low standards of hate radio.

Heather, I'm so glad you watch and write about shows like "Easy Money" and "Top Design." I'm confident, without having seen either of these programs, that for me your reviews are more entertaining than the shows themselves. At least I can make it to the end of your articles.

Overall though, I wish there were weightier Salon articles on weekends.