America is on track for the most amusing apocalypse ever. Things may be going to hell, but the campaign narrative unfolding in real time couldn't be any more fun. It's all entertainment, and apparently there's no bummer bad enough to shock us back to our senses.

What the pepper-spraying cops at UC-Davis and the contempt-spewing Newt Gingrich have in common is how easily they demonize American kids who want only to exercise their right to free assembly in order to swing the spotlight on the unfairness that is ravaging our nation.

It'd be a new day for democracy if political ads were required to include a disclaimer: "The scary music, Photoshopped pictures and misleading sound bites in this ad are tricks intended to manipulate you."