We had the local newscast on during dinner, and there were at least five political ads during that half-hour. The Big Issue appears to be insurance rates, as that was the focus of spots by Governor Goodhair, Tony Sanchez, and David Dewhurst, the GOP candidate for Lite Guv. It was pretty amusing seeing Dewhurst, a corporate politician through and through, take a pseudo-populist stance against Big Evil Insurance Companies who are Gouging Honest Citizens. Of course, since Dewhurst is to populism as Linda Tripp is to discretion, he can't attack them head-on. His tack is to blame Evil Trial Lawyers whose Evil Frivolous Lawsuits are the real, untold reason behind high insurance rates. It's a fairly common hymn from the Texas GOP Songbook, where tort reform is as much an article of faith as tax cuts and highway expansion are.

The main lesson one learns from this is to always have the remote nearby when watching TV from August to November. The mute button is your friend.