High production values, a cany selection of stories . . . was last night's infomercial from the Obama campaign worth the $5,000,000 it cost to broadcast on primetime network and cable tv? In the mix of personal and policy we heard the now familiar themes of hope and change -- a lot. What was not mentioned: the name John McCain -- or the word Democrat. Has Obama's team been reading the liberal communications books or what?

Today, three who've been covering this election from first to last: Hendrik Hertzberg, Senior Editor and Staff Writer of the New Yorker; Roberto Lovato, Associate Editor at New America Media and contributor to The Nation; and Chris Rabb, Founder & Chief Evangelist for Afro-Netizen. With an eye on the shifting media environment, networks fighting to outdo each other in punditocracy and less than a week to go, what's left?

Then a couple of teenage reporters - they've been closely watching this election, not quite old enough to cast their ballot. They have their questions -- and their hopes. And they think anyone voting on race alone is not paying attention to the issues. What does the 2008 presidential race mean for them? Lucia Modesto is a Junior at Franklin D. Roosevelt High School, a public school in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn in New York City. She is the editor in chief of the school newspaper, the New Dealer. Lesly Vertilus is a senior at FDR and also writes for the school paper. He is currently writing the election article.

Finally, Laura's commentary, looking ahead to the daunting task of jump starting the US economy....
It's all on this edition of GRITtv.