Then there are the parking spots, always at a premium near the Capitol. Democrats had been given roughly one spot per senator — there were 30 Democrats last year — and guessed there were perhaps double or even triple that controlled by the majority. Instead, they have learned, there are more than 800.

Peter Holsapple, Measure for Measure:

By the time I had moved from Los Angeles to New Orleans in 1993, probably the drinkingest city in America, my own alcohol problem was enormous. But I just thought I was having a lot of fun. The band I moved there with was a fine excuse to get together with five close friends, a case of beer, a few bottles of champagne and tequila, and make some music: New Orleans was a perfect destination to continue the party, which we did. After the band broke up, I moved upstairs from a bar I played at so the commute home wouldn’t be quite so deadly.

More from CNN snap poll
by kos
Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 08:29:03 PM PDT

Who expressed his views more clearly in the debate?

Obama 60
McCain 30

Who spent more time attacking his opponent?

Obama 17
McCain 63

Who seemed to be the stronger leader?

Obama 54
McCain 43

Who was most likeable?

Obama 65
McCain 28

No good news for McCain.

When you exercise at about the same time every morning—especially if you wake up regularly at about the same time—you’re regulating your body's endocrine system and circadian rhythms. Your body learns that you do the same thing just about every day, and it begins to prepare for waking and exercise several hours before you actually open your eyes.

ST. PAUL -- One of the most enduring taboos in American politics, the airing of graphic images from the September 11 attacks in a partisan context, died today. It was nearly seven years old.

The informal prohibition, which had been occasionally threatened by political ads in recent years, was pronounced dead at approximately 7:40 CST, when a video aired before delegates at the Republican National Convention included slow-motion footage of a plane striking the World Trade Center, the towers' subsequent collapse, and smoke emerging from the Pentagon.

At the same time, Kennedy knows how to be a partisan better than any other Democrat alive. When he was not cajoling Republicans into backing surprisingly progressive regulation, he was brilliantly outplaying them. He relentlessly pursued a hike in the minimum wage, until enough Republicans were shamed into supporting it. Kennedy worked hand in glove with Labor Secretary Bob Reich, over the objections of more conservative members of the Clinton administration, to pass the Family and Medical Leave Act.

But poor Warner. What a day to be struck with aphasia. Up there on that stage, before tens of thousands of eager Democrats, he forgot John McCain's name! So attendees and viewers alike heard a lot about the importance of the future, and parsed a lot of vague allusions to "outdated thinking" and politicians "stuck in the past." What they didn't hear was that John McCain is the politician of the past. While Warner spoke of the dream of an "administration that believes in science," he didn't see the need to mention that Obama is running against a politician who thinks tax cuts raise revenues. When Warner encouraged delegates to dream of a world in which "all children have access to health care," he forgot to mention that John McCain had voted against expanding S-CHIP.