"A FIRST-CLASS CARNIVAL": I submit that if we refer to the recall as anything we call it what Senator Feinstein did: a carnival, not a circus. "Circus" has somehow become derogatory over the years--i.e., something like "Oh gawd--it was a frikkin' circus that weekend." And you would never use "carnival" in that way; in fact, a "carnival atmosphere" usualy describes legitimate celebration, not chaos. A circus also implies a captive audience, whereas a carnival is more or less indistinguishable from a fair, which means you can mill around between the rides they towed in and get rooked at the "blow up the clown's balloon" booth and eat corndogs and receive free literature from 4-H. Carnivals are still fun; circuses are something you get dragged to on a middle school field trip. And this recall is all about being tons of fun AND offering a variety of exhibitors and not being clowns and animals and human tricks put on for captive rubes. Sheeoot, we should rechristen every Voting Day a Voting Carnival--more people would show up. Especially if there's sno-cones and corndogs.