When your parents went to school, they walked three miles. Each way. Uphill, both ways. In the snow. Right? In the past, everything was better, more like Lake Woebegone: Where all the women are strong, the men are good looking, and all the children are above average.

In politics, the reverse is true. Yes, some other election is important, but this election, everyone will tell you, is the "most important in our lifetime." Here's a hint: The next one will be the "most important" too. In 2008, everything seems bigger, louder, crazier than years' past. Though, as with walking uphill both ways in the snow, maybe we're just remembering happier times past.

We reported yesterday that Sen. Hillary Clinton will hit the trail for a fast-and-furious campaign swing that she hopes will attract enough media to fill up her own press plane (Concord, Portsmouth, Sioux City and Des Moines events so far). Sen. Barack Obama plans a fast-paced tour of his own, with events in Manchester, Milford and Hudson on Monday; Manchester, Waukee, Guthrie and Carroll on Tuesday, and more Iowa events Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Sen. Sam Brownback has South Carolina all to himself this weekend. His campaign just released a schedule showing the Kansan in Summerville, North Augusta and Columbia, where he'll tailgate at the USC-UL-Lafayette game on Saturday. And then he'll sit in a luxury box to take in the game. It's good to be da king.

But Labor Day isn't the start of things anymore, writes Washington Post's Alec MacGillis. "Time was, candidates could prepare for the post-Labor Day rush with a relatively leisurely summer." That hasn't been the case, as the Ludicrous Speed of the campaign has been going on for six months or more. (Side question: How many events will Fred Thompson schedule per day? Will be an important indication of his commitment to overcoming the laziness questions)

MacGillis does note, though, that Rudy Giuliani is off all Labor Day weekend. Well, it is baseball stretch run time too.

In another example of modern gluttony and excess, former Gov. Mitt Romney has procured the services of Stuart Stevens and Russ Schriefer, two top GOP media men, to join Romney's own private media firm, Midnight Ride Media, reports The Fix. The team also includes Alex Castellanos, Curt Anderson, Brad Todd and Larry McCarthy, and they're overseen by Alex Gage. Gage told Cillizza that "such a large number of media consultants is a necessity in the YouTube world."

Back in my day, we started campaigning hard in September, and we had one media consultant who produced nothing but 30-second ads. You kids and your YouTube...

Speaking of new things, did anyone notice that former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, jumping way up in recent ARG polls in early states, won the endorsement of the Machinists' union? The IAM had never endorsed a Republican before, but Huckabee showed up, and he won the nod, reports the LA Times.

The Plank points to those ARG polls and argues that the guv is making it a race. He's not at Mitt Romney levels yet, but with 14% in Iowa, he outpaces Fred Thompson's 13% and comes close to Rudy Giuliani's 17%. The question he'll face now: Can he sustain those huge numbers, or is he going to fade as memories of his strong showing in Ames wane?

Finally, some Friday candy: What do you do with campaign cash when you have never received fewer than 87% of the vote? (Seriously, 19-term Rep. Charlie Rangel has never received fewer than 17 in 20 votes) Well, you pay for your portrait on the committee wall, according to CNN.

To be more precise, you pay $64,500 for a portrait, because you want it three-quarter length and you might be able to stand to shed a few pounds: "Portrait artists determine fees based largely upon reputation, but the size of the subject and detail required also factor heavily in the pricing," Rangel attorney Phu Huynh writes to the FEC, seeking permission to spend campaign funds for the purpose.

"The size of the subject" -- how much is Rangel paying this guy to call him fat?

RCP will head to Charlottesville today to report on Virginia Senator John Warner's press conference, at which he will announce his plans for the future. Keep checking this site for news. And by the way, is he holding the presser at UVA just so Larry Sabato can get in every newspaper in America tomorrow?