November 5th cannot get here fast enough. I'm not sure which is worse, that people are so fickle (or stupid?) so as to believe 15-second sound-bites equate to actual policy/decision making/reasons to vote for someone or that politicians and news media perpetuate the cycle...

I wish people would pay as much attention to local matters and local elections as they pay to national issues and elections. A person can affect the most change on the local level, do the most good (or the most harm). We have a global economy and instantaneous information at our fingertips and of course national policy is neccessary. Most, if not all, of our ills, however, can be cured at the local level...poverty, the environment, unemployment, housing, homelessness, energy, education, all of it. Improving social capital on the local level is the best way to improve our society on every level. One man in the White House, 435 men and women in the House, and 100 men and women in the Senate cannot do as much to better this country and the lives of our citizens as the indiviuals and families in our own communities.

As an ardent follower of local matters, I often find myself wondering if I am the only one paying attention to those...people...we've elected to run our city or am I just the only one who votes? Do people not realize the decisions being made and their impacts on our lives? Surely we are intelligent people and would not let this nonsense carry on? I'm not sure where the blame lies - with those of us who voted them into office or with those of us who do not bother to vote at all.

I am encouraged and impressed with voter turn out for this election. Already, even before election day, we have seen record nubmers of voters at the polls. I hear that it is expected that half of all eligible voters will be voting this year. How do we leverage this historic turn-out to improve ourselves on the local level? Afterall, true democratic decisions can only be made on the smallest level. "We the people" are not in Washington; we the people are here in our cities and towns, in our neighborhoods. All this talk about Wall Street and Main Street - Washington doesn't even know what Main Street is anymore.