DON'T RUN DOWN THE INSTITUTION Time we developed a thicker skin anyway aka China... Don't need to be so apologetic about our short... comings!!! Yes we have our own spiritual and cultural underpining, so does every other country in the world. So why the sarcastic note. American Presidents have been known to be equally if not even more concerned, and convinced of the arcane. World over there is sufficient faith in myth and fables, which who knows might even be real. They serve to sustain the national culture, and identity, why we should be any different I can't guess or imagine. Reality just like beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. Cheers... May the best man or woman win today and let us celebrate whomsoever wins, since in that way we elevate the institution, not the person. I remember a story by Munshi Premchand titled "Panch" where a really bad guy once elected the Panch to decide over a case where he himself had a vested interest. BY virtue of the fact that he know held a position as a "Panch" he could not bring himself to tell a lie even to save his own interests. That is how powerful an institution can become provided we don't run down everything, in a fit of cynicism. Some reverence too is needed. I remember also how Giani Zail Singh developed a backbone after he became The President of India or have we completely forgotten the postal bill episode?