1. "As a leader, you shouldn‘t necessarily be popular –– you should be respected." As the week wore on, the Democrats were getting a boost from a hurricane–force swirl of lobbyists jawing on behalf of farmers, small businessmen, municipal governments, casinos, you name it.

2. "We were resolved we were going to talk him out of this . . . Michelle being the most clear that it was a bad idea." Obama, during two hours of jawing, convinced them he could win but could not do it without them.

3. Much is made (at least between themselves) of the fact that the duo in blue consists of ‘‘a bean and a nigger‘‘ –– Sancho himself is a former gang member while Adel is simply an amoral mofo with a taste for boosting the expensive gadgets of the citizens he waylays. (He also sexually molests a female motorist while her male companion looks on helplessly, a play of degradation that feels cribbed from the "Crash" handbook.) But when the florid speeches of volcanic rage and frustration draw to a close –– and when Collins (the memorable Perry Smith from "Capote") and Gooding (an actor here reinvigorated by the indie–film chance to hurl obscenities after a run of studio pap) complete their acting exercises –– we still have no clue who these men are and what sent them down their intersecting moral dark alleys. ‘‘This is the day, cuz,‘‘ Adel assures Sancho, the two of them jawing about making one last big splash before getting out of the racket.