28 Days.

Less than a month to go until what some have claimed to be the most important American presidential election in our lifetimes. 28 days, to be exact.

The economy is in the toilet. People can't afford to drive to work-- but they've probably lost their jobs anyways. Many can't afford healthcare, or even a place to live. This is America, the land of dreams and prosperity, and we can't even take care of our own.

You would think that our politicians, especially those running for "leader of the free world," would understand which issues are important to us, which ones are worthy of their time to discuss.

But no. Instead, we get bickering about who voted which way and for what reasons, who doesn't regularly read a newspaper, who goes to what church, or who can't use a computer. Barack Obama articulated this problem in his book, The Audacity of Hope:

"No, what's troubling is the gap between the magnitude of our challenges and the smallness of our politics--the ease with which we are distracted by the petty and trivial, our chronic avoidance of tough decisions, our seeming inability to build a working consensus to tackle any big problem."

So, as you're deciding to vote, please: stop paying attention to what shade of lipstick is on the pig. Get to know what the candidates actually support, or what changes they will actually make. Please. Our country needs it.

(And for a much more articulate argument, see this post by James Fallows: http://jamesfallows.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/10/our_capacity_for_selfgovernmen.php)