Election forum: Turning point

They’re calling it the nastiest race in memory. But when the last debate is over, the last ad has aired, and Massachusetts goes to the polls, how should we understand our political moment? Many believe the state has arrived at a critical juncture. But does the situation call for a significant break with the past?

Ideas and CommonWealth magazine invited five prominent observers -- former governors Paul Cellucci and Michael Dukakis, MIT President Susan Hockfield, Harvard’s Peter J. Gomes, and Edward L. Glaeser of the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston -- to offer their perspectives on what’s at stake on Nov. 7.