Partisan But...

The JumboTron flickered. McCain made a joke about falling asleep on
stage. Obama admitted he once went to Columbia—though no offense, his
time as a community organizer was the best education he ever had.
Soundbites, but thankfully also more political substance than had been
expected, rolled off the tongues of the two presidential candidates as
they took questions from reporters in the ServiceNation Forum.

What was most pleasantly surprising about the event—which was
previously billed as political softball—was not the fact that the
candidates and other speakers dipped into actual substance. Nor was it
the fact that some of that substance mattered to Columbia and its
students. The delight of the event could be witnessed on Low Plaza,
where an audience of thousands engaged the speakers both critically
and with a sense of humor.

As we've said, we hope the implications of Thursday's events will not
be forgotten today and tomorrow. The campaigns too could learn
something from the relative success of the night. In any case, moments
of gathering on such a scale are rare, and we hope such opportunities
will continue.