Google Web Toolkit a Year Later: Was it the correct level of abstraction?

A little over a year ago, Ajaxian published an editorial entitled Google Web Toolkit: The correct level of abstraction? In it, Dion raised some important questions about GWT:

• Isn't debugging generated Javascript going to be messy?
• Wouldn't the large size of the generated Javascript make it's use infeasible?
• Where is all of the cool stuff, like effects libraries, etc.?
• Is generating "assembler" in Javascript really the right level of abstraction?

Now that a year has passed and people have had a chance to experiment and develop with GWT, I thought it would be a good idea to revisit these questions. I interviewed GWT practitioners Dr. Adam Tacy and Robert Hanson, who -- aside from working on commercial projects featuring GWT -- have just finish their first book on the subject, GWT in Action: Easy Ajax with the Google Web Toolkit. They were kind enough to answer a few of my questions.