We've now reached the reductio ad absurdum of political discourse in America. I was watching Washington Week on PBS last night. Almost the entire broadcast was devoted to.... you guessed it..... the endless presidential campaign. One of the pundits mentioned that while the candidates are all offering worn out bromides and slogans, none are dealing with the real issues that matter to us. Someone else asked, "like what?" "Oh, you know," he answered, "like education, health insurance, the economy." Yeah, I thought, all the things that matter to us that the talk shows don't discuss because they're too busy discussing the candidates who don't discuss the things that matter to us. Elections were once a staple of the real world, an opportunity for change. Whoever thought they would become a distraction? Like the rest of the news.