A Campaign Still to Be Plumbed

"Ridicules" was the wrong word. Bill Walsh, National copy desk chief, said: "Election-season headline writing tends to involve various forms of, and synonyms for, 'criticize.' In this case we could have chosen a better one."

And readers were right to complain that Friday's Page 1 photo of Biden seeming to point aggressively at Palin did not reflect the tenor and civility of the debate.

Some readers think that Obama has not been closely examined, especially his background in Chicago. I reviewed every Post Chicago story on Obama; several months-old stories by National reporter Peter Slevin, based in Chicago, were insightful, as was Liza Mundy's Aug. 12 Magazine take on Obama's "serious luck."

A Nov. 13 story said Obama "cut a path largely independent of the Democratic machine, its ward bosses and its byzantine rules of succession." A Feb. 9, 2007, story said that in the Illinois Senate he "emerged as a leader while still in his 30s by developing a style former colleagues describe as methodical, inclusive and pragmatic." Other stories told of Obama's ties to a fundraiser convicted this year of influence peddling and to two community activists and onetime Weather Underground radicals.

Readers want to know more about McCain's health, especially his cancer, and about the end of his first marriage. Brendan DuBois of Exeter, N.J., was one of several to bring up drug use: "After the lengthy front-page article on Cindy McCain's drug use . . . can we at least expect similar treatment on Senator Obama's admitted drug use?"

Several readers complained that Krissah Williams Thompson's article: "Brothers in Arms Hit Road to Rally Support for McCain" "makes it seem as if veterans are heavily supportive of Mr. McCain. If you take a moment to scan the more than 690 comments (at the time I write this), you will instantly see that nearly all respondents strongly disagree with the thrust of Ms. Thompson's article." The story did note that Obama had raised more money from veterans than McCain had.

Readers can review every Post story on Obama and McCain, their Senate votes and policy stands at http://washingtonpost.com/politics.

The single biggest question: What would these candidates do as president and vice president? That's what The Post needs to answer as fully as possible before Election Day.

Deborah Howell can be reached at 202-334-7582 or atombudsman@washpost.com.