“By selecting Sarah Palin as his running mate, John McCain plunged his campaign into the plot of a Frank Capra film. Capra’s heroes — such iconic characters as Longfellow Deeds, Jefferson Smith, John Doe, and George Bailey, portrayed by Gary Cooper (Deeds and Doe) and Jimmy Stewart (Smith and Bailey) — came from small towns, embodied rural values, were improbably propelled into the public spotlight, were assailed by urban sophists and sophisticates who did the bidding of monied interests, and prevailed against great odds through dint of grit, honesty and dumb luck.” [editor’s note: No argument here — and I’m a HUGE Capra fan. The good news, for a libertarian, is that this election’s suddenly become at least entertaining - SAT] (09/04/08)