Sanger said that, assuming the course of the economy was predictable, the “two major unpredictables” that may decide the election are the state of the war in Iraq and whether another major terrorist attack occurs.

“With a country this divided, I don’t think you could ever bank a victory,” Sanger said.

Brokaw also described the nation’s deepening partisanship and said he hoped Americans could soon find a common ground.

“Both these parties right now with their ruthless efficiency are making this one country, two nations,” Brokaw said.

Medavoy said he finds the political split troublesome as well.

“If you cling to your ideologies so firmly, you trivialize history. And if you trivialize history you destroy education,” he said.

Brokaw arrived 15 minutes after the discussion began due to the cancellation of his flight out of New York. Upon his arrival at Logan Airport, he was given a state police escort to expedite his arrival.

“I do not expect to be reading about [the police escort] on Page Six—that’s my only request,” Brokaw said, alluding to the popular gossip section in the New York Post.

Brokaw, towards the end of the panel’s discussion, said that he did not have any political ambitions despite his impending Dec. 1 retirement from his job as the anchor of NBC Nightly News.

“I’m running for cover, not for office,” he said.