Grim pictures and descriptions from yesterday's horrific bombing in Karachi, Pakistan made me particularly mindful of how unusual and hard-won is the peaceful culture of political dissent that I've come to expect -- even amidst sharp political differences -- in the U.S.

Al Gore can come and go as he pleases. Not so with former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Yesterday's bombing was a statement against a specific political figure with a specific political platform. This is, to my mind, quite different than the vague ideological and political grievances that bubble up and result in the unanticipated terrorist attacks we've seen in New York, London and Madrid. The Karachi bombing was a political rejoinder the way one candidate cuts in on another in a televised debate or airs a new series of attack ads.

I suppose my point is this: attack ads and petty debates (even hanging chads) seem a blessing to me right now. Would that Pakistan could access these wonders of political civility.