Welcome to our planet. Sorry that your saucer landed in the U.S. during our messy debt ceiling crisis. I'm happy to answer the questions it prompted you to ask. First: "Is America exceptional among Earth countries in how it funds government?" Yes, the United States operates very differently from most countries that we call democracies. Except for little Denmark, no other democracy has a "debt ceiling." Indeed, no other industrialized country on Earth limits how much the government can borrow and owe.

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Well, we've been away for two weeks, and those two weeks were just chock-full of political news, so we've got a lot to cover. The reason for the interruption in columns was, of course, our attending Netroots Nation, the yearly conclave of bloggers, Progressives, and all and sundry who like hanging out with them. Which brings us to this week's unusual title -- today's Friday Talking Points, for the first time ever, are going to be professionally-produced and focus-group-tested. More on this later.

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That being said, the pride I feel having been in attendance of the spectacle that was the Democratic National Convention is truly ineffable. I have never been more inspired to be a liberal than after the first night of the convention. Politics was put into perspective for me. Before, government was more theoretical and I could speak in an idealist liberal voice without considering the actual implication of the next president. Up until now an election has never directly impacted my life, just my parents' lives (which subsequently affected me). The decisions Americans make in 2012 will affect my ability to get a job and afford college. So everything materialized for me, and as Sandra Fluke illustrated, two distinctly different futures are in front of us. One future in which millionaires and billionaires will get tax cuts and women don't have the right to control their bodies and their health care, or a future in which jobs continue to be created and women can earn just as much as men for doing the same amount of work.

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I must come out forthright and say I will be bitter about tonight regardless of the quality of the speeches. The DNC's decision to shift the venue from the stadium that could seat 70,000 to the convention center which seats about 22,000 has prevented me from attending the last night of the convention. I will still give my thoughts on the night but be aware I was not present for the speeches or events that took place.

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Unfortunately, the Democrats couldn't restrain themselves from going after Romney with three people, all of whom worked at an ex-company that had once been owned by Bain Capital. Each gave a relatively similar story in which their company was ruined by Romney while he profited off their failure. He cost Americans jobs, broke Tiny Tim's leg, and probably even talked about Fight Club. I have no love for Romney, but such a exaggeration of negativity demoralizes the entire base and moves the focus from Obama's outstanding accomplishments to Romney's shortcomings.

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The election of President Barack Obama made me realize that I could no longer be an observer on the sideline. I had to be a participant, so I became an American citizen. I knew I had made the right decision when my husband Chris and I attended Barack Obama's inauguration in January 2009. It was a day I will never forget. [Editor's note: see photo, above] There we were, two amongst thousands, on the Mall in Washington D.C. in the freezing cold waiting to see the swearing in on the giant TV screen. Before the event started, Bono warmed us up. It was worth it though to experience that "being a part of something great" feeling.

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The first night had two large overarching themes: Women's rights, and President Obama's accomplishments. A multitude of women spoke not only about abortion and being pro-choice, but about equal pay for equal labor. However, the dominating pattern was the constant praise of President Obama, and the effectiveness of his policies. Obama's ability to save the auto industry and create jobs for twenty-nine consecutive months was a focal point in why he deserved to be re-elected. In addition, Obamacare and benefits for veterans were mentioned repeatedly by speakers. Last but not least diversity was constantly stressed. I lost count of the number of times I heard the line, "you should be able to defend the country you love, regardless of who you love." Overall, a very strong performance by the Democrats -- they were consistent in their backing of Obama, and unlike the Republicans they gave examples of concrete policies that have actually made a difference.

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I was five when President George Bush "beat" candidate Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election. At the time I had no clue about politics or party philosophy. However, I did know Al Gore received more overall votes in the election than George Bush, then the members of Supreme Court voted on who would become the next president, and they elected Bush. The election was the first political event that I can remember clearly in my life, and although I was always bound to be a liberal (given the household I grew up in), that lost election established my anti-conservative opinion. I followed the Kerry/Bush election in 2004 with determination (or at least all the determination a nine-year-old can muster), thinking I could somehow impact the results of the election. Of course I was wrong.

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Anyway, we got the following column submission from "michty6" a while back, but didn't even have time to do the formatting required until now. Sorry for the delay! When submitted, the article was preceded by a cartoon which I couldn't use for copyright reasons -- but, thankfully, we had the perfect C.W. Cunningham cartoon to use instead.

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Today we present an article written by one of ChrisWeigant.com's most prolific commenters, "Michale." When I called for article submissions for this month, I said I would not limit the point of view presented, so (to put it mildly) this is not exactly an article I would have written myself. But it is indeed the type of article I'd write (from a very different viewpoint, of course) -- an analysis of the upcoming election and how outside events might change it, for better or worse. So, without further ado, I will turn the CW.com soapbox over to Michale for today.

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