Plus, considering the subject and date, let us remember Pearl Harbor and I commend Michelle Gielan at the CBS Morning News for starting my day with actual footage from the attack. Would that we could have been as clear about distinguishing existential threats recently as then.

Well, back to the actual subject of the report for which comments on this page are meant. I've been constructing this since the end of the show.

Ah, so!

That which this report explores could have been explained to me by my friend, Kathy Fay, a former Howler (a member of my infamous radio theater troupe at Yale’s WYBC) who after a long interruption of her undergraduate education returned from Germany and Japan in '90 or so. She told me about reporting on nuclear issues for a newspaper or news bureau but when she began talking about joining a geisha my imagination leapt most luridly and, being easily embarrassed, I’m sure that I began acting very uninterested in continuing to discuss her work overseas.

Oh, if only I had asked the obvious question!

Dear Bob Mondello,

I found your piece on presidential speeches too harsh. I listen carefully to President Obama's speeches because they are thoughtful, reasoned, detailed. While I don't agree with all his actions, I feel that he speaks to the nation as an intelligent body. Regarding the nation as intelligent is a profoundly democratic impulse.

Much of the media, on the other hand, over-simplify a situation or action, as if it were a play and the politicians characters. For instance, there is little in-depth coverage of legislation (except for very large bills), in a period when many bills are being worked on. It is so frustrating to hear a snippet before or after the vote. If the media doesn't cover these important actions, they (and, so we) are left with the soap opera of political play. Bob, your show is usually so much fun, don't get caught in bubble!

P.S. How many people did listen to President Obama's speech?