Insight on the debate season and the politics of presidential elections from The Sun's Associate Editor.

On his way to Ithaca yesterday, Robert B. Semple Jr., New York Times associate editor and winner of the Pulitzer Prize, got a call from his wife. She told him that when he was speaking to students at Cornell, he should tell them not to give up on politics.

With recent news of Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s (D-N.Y.) involvement with prostitution, many are losing hope in the way our government works. But Semple, in his lecture to students in Goldwin Smith’s Lewis Auditorium last night, tried to stay optimistic. As one of the editors who puts together editorials for The Times, he gave his perspective on the three remaining presidential candidates and challenges that each of them faces in the coming months.