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Hello and welcome to the Slate Political Gab Fest for November 16th, 2012, the all-in edition.

I'm David Plotz, the editor of Slate, and I'm alone in Slate's D.C. headquarters. That's because John Dickerson is off this week. He is elsewhere in other places. But Emily Bazelon, Slate Senior Editor, Slate's Honorary Console to Yale University is at her post to New Haven. Hello, Emily.

Hello.

And we have a special guest this week. Our third is occasional GabFest visitor and senior editor of The Atlantic.

Tanahasi Coates, welcome to Anahasi.

Thanks for sitting in.

Sup.

Tanahasi's wearing a hat also.

Somehow that goes with his greeting.

Why does the hat go with a greeting?

I don't know.

It just seemed to to me.

It's why I do the brosky thing. You're the first person who's going to try to like out baritone me on the show and it won't happen.

It's not going to happen.

I will not let it happen.

I think you got it over me.

...