After lecturing nearly an hour, a wily economics professor from my college days would turn to the class and ask us, “Is that right?”

Sometimes he’d analyze an issue from a liberal viewpoint, and the next time as a conservative, with both discreetly shrouded. Then came that vexing question: “Is that right?” We were dismissed and left to figure it out on our own.

By “right,” he didn’t always mean, “Is that correct?” Often, he intended for us to decide “Is that the just or honorable path?”

I thought of my old prof two Fridays ago, as my wife and I (also one of his former students) watched Hal Holbrook perform his famed “Mark Twain Tonight!” one-man show in the stately Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts in Illinois. Holbrook was nearly as old as the historic hall, which was built in 1921. But the 83-year-old just received his first Oscar nomination this year, and his masterful portrayal of America’s greatest writer brought to life Twain’s razor-sharp wit, humor and philosophy.

Many times, Holbrook paused and stood absolutely still, except for the cigar teetering between his fingers. Then, his Twain broke the silence and thought aloud, leaving an idea hovering over the enraptured audience. Twain formed his opinions more than a century ago. Yet during Holbrook’s re-enactment, Twain’s comments forced the 21st-century crowd to wonder if we still haven’t gotten it “right.”

Holbrook’s characterization, which he has performed more than 2,000 times since debuting it 54 years ago, is set in 1905. Twain was 70 at the time, a literary icon on a worldwide speaking tour. He’d been born in 1835 as Halley’s Comet passed over tiny Florida, Mo. Twain died, as he’d hoped, when the comet returned to the skies in 1910. Since then, Halley’s Comet has come and gone again, in 1985, and the world has changed, some.

This month in our nation’s capital, the Republican White House and the Democratic Congress are accusing each other of creating the current economic malaise. While most Americans simply want those politicians to address the soaring fuel prices, tight housing market, home foreclosures and job cuts, the public officials instead position their actions and statements according to the upcoming election.

Twain’s comment: “All Democrats are insane, but not one of them knows it. None but the Republicans. All the Republicans are insane, but only the Democrats can perceive it. The rule is perfect: In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane.”