Throughout the campaign we have been gathering the top political writers in the country, and asking them to discuss the presidential race. Today they discuss the end of the Democratic primary, Senator Clinton's future, and a brief look at the general.

Seattlest: It's been a very eventful week, with Senator Obama wrapping up the nomination and Senator Clinton set to end her campaign, where do you see the race going now?

Ryan (Time Magazine): Finally. It is about freaking time. Now the race truly begins, and I for one am excited to see which dirty trick the Republicans try first. My money's on Secret Muslim.

Jeff (The New Yorker): Or McCain sticks out his fist and Rove hits it, but it windmills around and bops Obama on the head.

Luke (Wall Street Journal): Karl Rove was on Fox News last night giving advice about how McCain should proceed. If I was McCain, I wouldn't let this guy anywhere near my campaign. I would also be able to get into movies cheaper than regular price.

Jeff: Wait... the bigger question is... why were you watching Fox News last night?

Seattlest: What do you make of Senator McCain's idea of ten town hall meetings throughout the summer?

Jeff: I'm curious why ten before the convention. My hunch tells me they figure Obama's numbers are trending down from this protracted primary, and they want to keep the negative momentum going. Strike while the iron's hot--otherwise any idle time gives Obama a chance to recover.

Luke: I think the pressure is on McCain now, because he finally has to open his mouth and say things. His track record isn't that good. The whole 10,000 years in Iraq thing, the gas tax. A couple of those comments and it won't matter who Obama chooses for a running mate.

Jeff: If McCain is proposing ten town hall meetings... Obama should propose ten 1-on-1 games of basketball. Seriously. Who in America wouldn't vote for the winner of that? Actually, I'm giddy as I type this. It's actually a really, really, really good idea. Do Obama's people troll this website?

Mystery Voice: Yes. We do.

Ryan: What does McCain think he will gain with these town hall meetings? Does he really think he's going to win an argument with Obama about Iraq? Or the economy? Or health care? Wait a minute. Maybe he doesn't want to debate at all, maybe he's got other ideas. Don't do it, Barack! Run! It's a trap!

Jeff: [Fast forward to first town hall meeting] Mr. Obama, for tonight's meeting, you'll be standing over here... right on this big red X.

Luke: [Fast forward to second town hall meeting] Mr. Obama, our first question comes from Harriet Gillespy in Keokuk, Iowa.... Homosayswhat?

Seattlest: Senator Clinton will be endorsing Senator Obama on Saturday, will that be enough to get her supporters to back Obama?

Jeff: So...I'm listening to my local public radio station call-in show called "Air Talk," the gap filler between NPR's "Morning Edition" and PRI's "The World"...and they're doing a discussion about the Democratic Primary.

This is only one of two topics they EVER talk about; the other being The Iraq War.

Anyway, one of the listeners calls in and says, "I was a Hillary supporter. Now I'm going to vote for McCain." Really? Are Hillary's supporters that bitter and/or racist? I can't imagine anybody liberal enough to support Hillary Clinton would hate blacks. So the only other thing I can think is that maybe she just is pouting and wants to take her ball and go home.

Weird. I don't get it.

Luke: I bump into that sentiment all the time, including one anonymous comment on a New York Times article, terrible idea by the way, anonymous comments, where a Hillary supporter said they would rather vote for Pol Pot than for Barack Obama.

This is immature selfishness at it's finest. This is the kind of shit I used to pull way back in the day when my friends and I used to go to Vegas and I would leave early cuz I lost a little money. Really? You would rather vote for Pol Pot? C'mon people. I supported Obama, but if Hillary had gotten the nomination, I would have walked into that voting booth and given her my vote . . . without hesitation.

The ridiculous notion that somebody's candidate didn't get the nomination, and so now, "I'll show them!" This is like when a girl breaks up with you and you catch yourself saying things like, "She'll see, one day I'm going to be a famous ball player, and I'll pretend like she doesn't even exist!"

Ryan: In all seriousness though, do you think he's going to pick Hillary as his VP? After hearing his speech Tuesday night, I could definitely see it happening. And she may not be everyone's favorite person, but there are worse choices out there. Like what if, just to keep from being too predictable, Obama went with Jenna Bush? Oh snap! Man, that would be awesome.

Luke: But what does it say about Hillary that she spent all this time talking about how unqualified he is to be president and now wants to be his "assistant"? I don't understand that. Let's ask the question, would Hillary have taken Obama as her running mate? By the way, Jeff you are a terrible worker and have ridiculous ideas about most things. You underperform at your job and your lack of experience is clearly evident in your daily dealings with customers. Can you see about getting me a job where you work?

Jeff: I'll try...but you have to wear blackface.

Luke: I sincerely hope that Jeff takes back his comment regarding having to wear blackface at his place of business. This sort of racial insensitivity has no place in today's work environment. It is comments like these that show Mr. Schell's distinct lack of prudence and profound lack of judgment.

Jeff, if I send you my resume, will you take a look at it and let me know if there are things I should highlight to make it more germane to the position?

Jeff: Okay, but the Latin Kings only accept resumes on parchment.

Luke: Latino Americans have a long history of significant contribution to the American cause. Their influence is stitched into the very fabric of the American way of life, and it is safe to say that without them, America would not be the great country it is today. Nice, I gotta figure out how to get my education history superimposed on a cabbage. DON'T tell anyone I said that.

Mark (CNN): Obama should take pick Bill Richardson for the Veep. If they're racist we've lost 'em already, if they're Latino, it's on!

Jeff: That's actually a shrewd political maneuver. I love it. There was all this talk during the primary season about Latinos voting for Hillary because... I'm just reporting what I heard... the thought was some Latinos wouldn't vote for a black. [Jeff ducks] An Obama-Richardson ticket is pretty powerful. But--what does he need more, Latinos or Southern voters? Would Edwards gain him more?

Luke: It would not have surprised me if she had run as an independent, or taken the fight to the convention. I think she uses the next five months as the first five months for the 2012 election. She is always going to behave in a manner that benefits her the most, regardless of what it does to those around her. Can you imagine how angry and senile Bill is going to be in four years? Yikes.

Jeff: Oh, I think that's a little bit of "the sky is falling" talk. What advantage would she get from running as an independent? That would be political suicide. She's way too politically cunning to cut ties with one of the parties in a two party system. The Clintons know that. Yes, she's interested in her own political survival-- and part of that survival is keeping with the DNC which is her life line. In the end, she'll come around.

Luke: You watch, dude. If she doesn't get the VP nod, something's coming down the pipe.

Seattlest: What do you make of Hillary vs. Obama getting more play than Obama vs. McCain over the past two days?

Jeff: It's a political soap opera, and much more entertaining then the mundane Republican vs. Democratic debate.

John (The Los Angeles Times): The Democrats have been undergoing an "election," but actually just a reality TV program, for the past several months already, so it's no surprise to me that Hillary/Obama is still much more in the public consciousness. Seeing the Obama headlines today, you'd swear the presidential election already happened. Anyone can say what they like about the matter, but it's plain to me that the Democratic nomination battle divided the party.

Whether Hillary supporters will remain Democrats at the core and Obama supporters now drop the bitter feud to join together to be one party again remains to be seen.

It sheds some interesting light on what the main issue for the 2008 election is. I don't mean war, gas prices, health care, or any of the other very important political subjects, I mean Democrat, Republican, gender, and race. If Hillary supporters vote for McCain, their central issue is not to assure the democratic nomination, it's something else, which has generally been race and/or gender. Or perhaps that's just the way it's been spun. Either way, Obama's challenge--and this is always said in politics, usually for PR reasons and rarely held in high regard--is to unite the democratic party. McCain's challenge is to not fuck up by talking.

In light of the big spread on msn.com today, reviewing the summer's most exciting developments in theme parks (I just crapped a little), I give you...THE ELECTION, the ride! You get to choose your car: An elephant or a donkey.

The donkey begins with a breezy drive through Liberaltown, featuring animatronic hippies throwing flowers and singing songs about peace and love, blood-spattered, smiling doctors performing 3rd-term abortions, and a ghostly, reappearing Karl Marx. Then you pass through the close-enough-for-kissing-but-actually-screaming mouths of Obama and Hillary, at which point your car gets cut in half and you are plunged screaming and on only two wheels into The Pit of Racism and Misogyny. The only way you can stop the ride is to repair your car (you are given a tool pack by an animatronic Bobby Kennedy).

If you pick the elephant your car is immediately shot into the air, passing free-floating dollar bills and pre-lit cigars. This inevitably ends and you drop into a sludgy pit of oil and crosses. Eventually, you drive out and into a warzone. This last part lasts 10,000 years.

Luke: Although, maybe there should be one random Ralph Nader car. You get in, it moves about three feet forward, and then you have to get out and go to the back of the line.

Jeff: But it stalls long enough on the track to make the donkey car swerve right before the finish line.

Ryan: Hey guys, what's the difference between Barack Obama and a pizza? The pizza isn't a secret Muslim! Hey oh!...[Cough]