My post on Sarah Palin caused quite a conversation among our bloggers yesterday and I’m delighted. I just want to clarify a couple of things.

My point was — still is — that I thought some of the ground on which folks were criticizing Ms. Palin was a bit shaky, and the response from some women was a tad hypocritical, and, in the case of those who felt "insulted," "betrayed," melodramatic. I also said that I thought it was a mistake to underestimate — or indeed, belittle — her appeal, because even voters who don’t agree with some or all of her politics (like my friend who is leaning toward Obama) will identify with her. There are all kinds of reasons to be for or against Palin — you can hate or love her stand on abortion and oil drilling, you can bemoan her lack of foreign policy experience or like her small-town, hands-on background. Politics is also strangely personal — I have a friend who can’t get past Palin’s "Audrey Hepburn wannabe" updo, just as people with longer memories may remember when Joe Biden first got his hair plugs. But it doesn’t have to be ugly personal. (Speaking of which, one of our bloggers accused me of defending Palin because my husband is an oil and gas lawyer. For the record, I’m too fully formed at this point to make my decisions based on what my husband does for a living, which is one of the reasons he likes me.)

Tonight, Palin will be interviewed by Charles Gibson, whom the always level-headed Liz rightly calls "estimable," and from then on she’ll be out there and so will her record. The post-convention silly season will give way to what is going to be an increasingly hard-fought campaign (this election is so much closer than anyone could have imagined even six months ago) and we’ll see what all four of these people are made of. Hopefully, at least some of the talk will turn back to actual issues, everyone will remember that it is Obama and McCain who are the candidates (including Obama and McCain themselves, both of whom seem to have forgotten), and there will be far less talk of lipstick on either hockey moms or pigs.

Which leads me, finally, to the reason why I am posting again. Last night, half asleep, I was jolted awake by Craig Ferguson, the Scottish late-night talk-show host on whom I have a mad crush. He is always spot-on and hilarious, but last night he delivered what can best be described as a public service message without being pompous. A brand new American, he gently tweaked both the press and the candidates and reminded us of what’s important.