Politician bashing is a time-honored tradition. Publicly draggging political candidates through the mud before each election has gone on forever. These pre-election weeks are sacred times  for our nation. Should we strip away candidates' freedom to rip each other to shreds?

I'm half kidding here.

On a serious note, I do think that television has changed politics. The TV ads are not out of hand with their frequency, but they usually are pretty far off the beaten path from concrete election issues. I don't feel like I'm influenced by TV election ads, but I feel like some other people make their decisions solely on the extremely limited information that those 15-, 30-, and 60-second ads give about a candidate. That says to me that those voters don't realize how much elected officials influence their and our lives.

Get to know the candidates. Then vote.

(Mathias Baden is the editor of the Jordan Independent. He can be reached at editor@jordannews.com.)

Some newspapers stop political letters to the editor the week before elections. Others run their election guides fairly close to Election Day.

It's best to learn about candidates well in advance of November, but I know many people make up their mind on their way to the polls or, worse yet, in the voting booth.

(Mathias Baden is the editor of the Jordan Independent. He can be reached at editor@jordannews.com.)