I believe that everyone is correct in recommending learning to use a text based editor of some sort. You may also want to consider learning to use a text based web browser such as lynx just in case your X server is not working and you have no idea why.

Is gedit in the list of editors that can be used, and was it compiled to allow gedit?
See the visudo manpage.

I messed up etc/network/interface the other day. On reboot, Gnome wouldn't give me the full desktop. A blank rectangular shape in the upper left. With the little I have learned about vim, I went into rescue mode and used vi to restore /etc/network/interfaces to its original state. All was well. Yep, a little knowledge of vi IS helpful.
Thanks

09/24/09 Vim is now my friend. It has gotten me out of a lot of pickles. I know enough when to edit and write and when not to write [qa!]. I feel a lot safer using vim over gedit or nano.