First lady Michelle Obama gave a great speech at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night. Her loving portrait of President Barack Obama as a husband and father inspired Democrats and reminded Republicans of virtues they admire in him.

The youthful enthusiasm and uncompromising combativeness of Ron Paul’s 20- and 30-something Maine delegates to the Republican National Convention were not only entertaining, but also reminded me of myself at that age.

For any other politician, I would hesitate to use such a loaded term when describing their actions, but LePage has given us a special license to use that word.

The 1962 Democratic primary for governor was the closest primary election for a major Maine office of the last half-century.

The 1962 Democratic primary for governor was the closest primary election for a major Maine office of the last half-century.

The 1962 Democratic primary for governor was the closest primary election for a major Maine office of the last half-century.

Gov. Paul LePage, referring to the findings of the Harvard University’s Program on Education Policy and Governance, claims “This report reaffirms what we already know: that the status quo in Maine is not working. Our educational system has neglected to put its students first, and has therefore failed them. We have a lot of work to do to rejuvenate our academic performance.”

There was a time, say about 1998, when the hit romantic comedy of the same name made its debut, that the phrase was cute. Email was a fast, special way to be connected. AOL’s ringy-dingy reminder was charming. Then email stopped being cute and special because everyone had it. Then it stopped being charming because it never stopped. Now we find ourselves stuck with the most ironic of unintended consequences of the once-efficient email: Its vast inefficiency.