Today’s stock slippage was a key talking point on this afternoon’s MSNBC political talk show filmed at Hofstra University. Under an elaborate tent and atop an embroidered rug, host Andrea Mitchell focused on key topics like the economic crisis and recent pole results forecasting the results of the upcoming election.

Greetings from Hofstra University, the site of the third and final presidential debate. Photo Editor Jenn Vargas and I arrived early this morning, eager to get a look at the campus preparing to host one of the most heated discussions in history. In the aftermath of the McCain campaign’s controversial accusations of Obama, and against the backdrop of an increasingly fragile economy, students and mainstream media outlets are gearing up for a talk that can influence the crucial November 4th vote.

In a dramatic text message sent in June, China’s financial insiders likened the trends marring the Shanghai Stock Exchange to an earth-shattering natural disaster. “More than 100 million investors have been buried in the ruins of the stock market by the earthquake in China's capital markets,” the text message read. “Most of them are dying.”

Like a waving silk ribbon, the crowd flowed up and down, up and down with a rhythm of passion and consistency. There were infants, parents, students, grandparents, workers, vagabonds, sports teams, security guards, corporate sponsors, ambassadors and too many other attendees to count or describe.