It was a busy day for Kamala Harris; her Vineyard vacation was drawing to a close and she was pressed for time. Stopping for a television interview on her way to catch a flight to New York city, the San Francisco district attorney, who is running for California Attorney General in 2010, arrived hurried but not flustered. The lights snapped on, a cameraman mimed a countdown, and she was on; speaking with precision about crime rates, recidivism, and the California budget crisis.

Lady Bird Johnson, the gracious widow of former President Lyndon
Baines Johnson, who was credited for her steadying influence on his
volatile personality, died Wednesday at her home in Austin, Tex., of
natural causes. She was 94.

With whispers that a hundred more were waiting outside, they filled the hall, charged with the anticipation of hearing the charismatic new voice of the Democratic Party, United States Senatorial candidate from Illinois, Barack Obama, and listening as a panel of luminaries offered their views on Brown vs. Board of Education: Mission Accomplished?

President Clinton shed the defiance that characterized the televised address following his August 17 grand jury testimony for a more humble tone when he spoke about forgiveness to a diverse gathering of more than 500 Vineyard residents and visitors at Union Chapel in Oak Bluffs on Friday.