Moderate Schmoderate.

Don't think that I'm not sickened by this image. I almost didn't upload it lest I heave up the Kashi cereal and turkey meatballs I ate today (not at the same meal, mind you).

Look, it's no secret that I'm one of those crrraaazzzyyyy liberals who wants the air to be clean, water to be clear, children to have healthcare, soldiers to come home, and schools to actually have books. But you know what, I spend a lot of time doing my homework. Mac Daddy and I watch three news channels concurrently while we each surf various blogs, news sites, and polls on our laptops. Sometimes we like to go really crazy and quadruple surf on our Blackberries too. News is our porn. Our addiction. Our time sapper. OK, Facebook has become a time sapper of late too.

Granted, I don't do much to learn the other side. That is simply too infuriating. I leave that to Mac Daddy who can withstand AM conservative talk radio without driving over a cliff. Me? I'd slam into the next pick up truck I saw if I listened to that crap. As it is it's all I can do to not flip off the Range Rovers I see driving around these parts with "W. Still the President" stickers. Seriously, who are these people? Have they not taken off their Chanel sunglasses long enough to see the world around them? I suppose they live life with a flippant toss of the hand as they call for the "help" to fetch the kids and fold the laundry.

Nonetheless, we all owe it to ourselves to brush up on our candidate of choice, regardless the race: local, state, national. We spend more time choosing fabric for our living room drapes than we do learning about the candidates' policies. More thought goes into picking summer camps and preschools than who the leader of the free world will be. We stress and moan about where to have our kid's birthday party but pay no regard to who's running for city council.

And what's with this nonsense of women saying, "Oh, I just vote for whom my husband tells me to vote for." Insert flitty dumb giggle here. I hear this load of crap from many women who are educated, professionals, colleagues and moms alike. Women who have advanced degrees in things I cannot pronounce. Women who are younger than I am. This madness must stop. Are they afraid to sound, and BE, smart? Aren't we over this silliness?

If you or anyone you know is considering voting for John McCain, either because you've always been a Republican, your husband told you to, or you think it's a Hillary smack at Obama, read this. You owe it to yourself to at least know what your vote will get you. You owe that to your children and to your fellow citizens. Voting is a right, a responsibility. Don't take it lightly. Surely it warrants more time than toile or cabbage roses in the dining room.