Unfortunately - you'll find angry, bully-ish and uneducated (save for sound bites) fools on either side. Whether they happen to be firmly planted on the far right or the far left, they dishonor ALL of us and demean our political process.

More unfortunately still is how very smart and very cynical politicians and advisors use that very fact to their respective advantages... in fact, moreso this year than any other I can remember.

This is for everyone on both sides: Question the messages, question your party, question yourself. Don't ignore the lessons of the past (and review them if necessary) but we need to educate ourselves now.

We need to get our information from a myriad of sources, even those we typically disagree with. Don't make your decisions this year based on party lines, paradigms, election ads or irresponsible extremists on talk radio. We have to do our homework this time. If we don't, we'll have only ourselves to blame.