I wasn't supposed to cover the Hofstra debate, or even the protests outside. But a family emergency recently summoned me back to my native Long Island, so I broke away for about five hours yesterday to sample the madness. It felt good to be home; despite all of the warranted abuse that the Gold Coast gets for harboring guidos, the place really is a magical bourgeois paradise, and a phenomenal place to people watch.

Tonight’s debate between Barack Obama and John McCain is at Hofstra University in my old Long Island backyard. I’ve noticed that when earlier debates were held in other corners of the America, some questions were formulated to fit the needs and interests of the local electorate. Since I know suburban New York well, I decided to pen some questions that Long Islanders could relate to.