Fans of this blog know a couple of three things:

(a)    Blogging is a fairly recent undertaking for Reader’s Digest, so some days it feels as though we are still getting this big dirigible off the ground.

(b)   My fixation is to be fair to all—just as when I’m wearing my “old media” hat.

(c)    We’re striving for a civil conversation, even if we’re in the near-anonymous blogosphere where good manners aren’t always the currency.

I think we’re off to a good start, although I haven’t kept up my end of the bargain completely: Some of you have been commenting, but I haven’t been responding. I’ll do that today, in this post, and try to keep the discussion moving better in the future—starting Sunday in Denver at the Democratic National Convention.

To OLD JOE, who posts his comments in capital letters: I don’t know how old you actually are, but you’re my most faithful commenter, so keep ’em coming. And Truman: welcome to the Loose Cannon blog. Truman, who lives in Westchester County, N.Y., is only 9 years old, folks, and won't be able to vote in the 2016 election unless the voting age is lowered to 17—yet he's following the 2008 campaign closely. That young dude gives me hope for the future.

“Fuzzyboy” wrote recently that the Russian troops in Georgia remind him of why seasoned Senator Joe Biden makes a logical running mate for Senator Obama. I agree, but… Jim Webb, Sam Nunn, and my pick Evan Bayh all have foreign policy experience, too. So do Chris Dodd and Bill Richardson. And Hillary Clinton. As for Fuzzy’s question (on the Republican side) about whether anti-Mormon bias on the part of conservative evangelicals will doom Mitt Romney’s candidacy, here’s my answer: I doubt it. John McCain doesn’t strike me as a person who would use the doctrinal tenets of a politician’s religious denomination against him. In fact, the only ones who have raised objections to Romney’s religion in my presence are secular liberals, often fellow journalists.

“EIC Peggy” noted the stark difference in Obama's and McCain’s answer to Pastor Rick Warren’s question about dealing with evil in the world. At Saddleback Church, those in attendance found McCain’s rousing reply more inspiring, as did many commentators, but I would also say that Obama’s more calibrated answer plays to his appeal as well—as a thoughtful leader who won’t rush into war. Which reminds me: “Ronnk” accused me of being “just another…Obamanaut.” This comment prompted “sdiego” to come to my defense, but I took ronnk’s critique seriously enough to re-read my post from Saddleback. Having done so, my reaction is that, in a campaign year in which so much of the mainstream media have often come across as blatantly partisan in favor of Obama, I’m a little surprised to be singled out in this way. Yet, as ronnk points out, tone is important, and I don’t mind having mine scrutinized. So I’ll say this to ronnk, and to everyone else: Thanks for reading the blog, and keep posting your comments.