Never content to let political events unfold on their own, the press seems obsessed with reminding us, ad nauseam, just how important the Next Big Thing is.

After last week proclaiming 100 million people were going to watch the first presidential debate (a Chuck Todd prediction that was only off by 46 million), the press goes right back to the hype game for Thursday's VP forum:

“Probably the most-anticipated vice presidential faceoff ever.” (AP)

“Probably the most anticipated vice presidential debate ever.” (Chicago Tribune)

“The most anticipated vice presidential debate in history.” (San Francisco Chronicle)

“The most anticipated vice presidential debate in history.” (Newsweek)

“What may be the most anticipated vice presidential debate in history.” (Politico)

How should tonight's showdown be described? Seems washingtonpost.com got it right when it dropped the breathless hype in favor of actual journalism: “Tonight's heavily anticipated debate.”

See, that's not so difficult.