Heard at the top of the 12:00pm HST NPR newscast, “President Bush will make his final State of the Union speech this evening.” I’m tempted to quote the old spiritual: Free at last, free at last, Thank God Almighty I’m free at last Except we still have 357 days until it’s really true.

With John Edwards continually running third in primaries and caucuses, there’s been speculation that he might become a “kingmaker” at the convention. Maybe, maybe not. But my question is, in these health-conscious times we’re in, “What replaces smoke-filled rooms?”