Sharon Day, co-chair of the Republican National Committee, asserted at the opening of her party’s national conference last week: “[This] is the most important election in our nation's lifetime."

Well, it depends. That probably isn’t true if your number-one issue of concern is drone attacks, the endless conflict in Afghanistan, the drug war, civil liberties, or the seemingly endless expansion of executive power. None of these are minor issues and the parties presently do not differ greatly on any of them.