There is an obstinate concretion in the way that it not only thinks with, but plays with heads - men's heads, maidenheads, heads of state, heads of argument.
Callers complained of signs put up to scare black voters in Ohio, of faulty voting machines in North Carolina and other states, of arguments and snubbed voters in Florida, and of late-opening polling places and other snafus in Philadelphia.
"The debate takes the form now of a thread," Schieffer said, turning serious, when I asked him about the state of political argument.
The most likely explanation - according to Nick Sparrow from ICM, who analysed the poll results and has monitored the gender gap across political issues for years - is the state of the argument.
Calling the in-state/out-of-state argument "so political," she added: "It's hard to close your mind to it, but in the review process it's not a factor".
It is intriguing commentary on the state of the traditionalist argument when those against same-sex marriage want only to shield their views on the subject.
The United States was now in a perpetual state of war, the argument went, and the criminal approach to fighting terrorism — and the due process that goes along with it — wasn't tough enough.
There you have the state of the art argument as it can be heard on the lips of any news media insider across the land.
The Ninth Circuit rejected the state of Montana's argument that nonpartisan elections are necessary for a "fair and independent" judiciary.
Legally, the secretary-of-state-signature argument seems kind of shaky.
