Turn Down the Rhetoric!

We're in the final push toward Election Day 2008. Of our honorable candidates, who, along with the rest of us, are staking so much on the ballots we'll cast in November, I make this request:

TURN DOWN THE RHETORIC!
TURN UP THE SUBSTANCE!

I don't want to hear another word about what the "other" candidate is hiding . . . I want to hear what you're planning.

I don't want to hear another word about failed economic policies or broken systems . . . unless it's a potential solution.

I don't want to hear another word about a citizen asking a "good question" in a town hall forum while the candidate stalls for a response . . . I want to hear a straightforward answer.

I don't want to hear another catchphrase from either side . . . We Americans are capable of analyzing sentences longer than 7 words, no matter what journalists have been taught. My comprehension is waaaay past that of an average 5th grader's, so I don't need your speeches and subsequent pundits' explanations broken down into small, manageable clauses lest they go over my head.

This election is serious business. Please, candidates and media, don't treat it like a sitcom that's geared toward the lowest common denominator.