Don't misunderstand me: Barack Obama is wrong on Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, health care, corporate tax rates, investment taxes, education flexibility, abortion regulation, immigration policy, meeting with dictators, social security, energy, trade, and believing that subprime lending was a good idea.

He has opportunistically changed or regularly misstated his positions on public financing, gun control, born alive infant protection, wire tapping, timetable for Iraq, elimination of the Bush tax cuts, the DC gun ban, an undivided Israel, the Cuba embargo, NAFTA, participation in town halls with McCain, oil drilling, and support of nuclear power.

He has no major legislative accomplishments as either a State senator or United States Senator, and has never demonstrated an ability to work with members of the other party, despite his claim that's what he'll do.

That being said; Barack Obama will win this election. And probably deserves to.

"Fight with me, fight with me," McCain passionately demanded at his Republican Convention, which led to a significant bounce in the polls and a type of excitement and momentum Republicans never thought they could see after 8 years of Bush.

We'd be happy to fight for you, Senator. But you have to fight for yourself first.

Here we are, one month prior to the election, and the only one taking the gloves off is Sarah Palin. She can't do this on her own. She shouldn't have to.

McCain let endless opportunities for a knockout punch fly by during Tuesday night's debate without even looking like he knew the opportunity existed.

We all know John McCain isn't much of a communicator (just like many of us know Barack Obama isn't much of a leader), but if you can't at least make an effort to stand up and fight for yourself and your ideas in the midst of a campaign... can you really be President of the United States?

Senator McCain, your health care plan is far superior to Barack Obama's. Learn to articulate it. Barack Obama claims he's giving 95% of Americans a tax cut, when only 70% of Americans pay federal income tax. Call him on it. Barack Obama deceptively tries to make it look like you're giving a targeted tax cut to oil companies. Clarify. He discusses Rwanda and Darfur when expressing circumstances where military action would have been worth it... as if he has no idea what was going on in Iraq under Saddam Hussein. Remind him.

Americans are fed up with Republicans, Senator McCain, and they're not giving you the benefit of the doubt. If you can't stand up and articulate your differences from the Bush Administration (which are significant) due to your fear of alienating the conservative base... then you don't deserve to win. Fight, Senator McCain, fight!

The status quo is not on the ballot, as Barack Obama would have people believe. Both men will be different than the last 8 years. And while Obama hasn't proposed anything that we haven't already seen from Clinton, Carter, or some other Democratic leader over the history of our nation, he has the amazing ability of packaging old ideas as "change"... and he deserves credit for that. You could have invested in inspiring ways to present your ideas, Senator McCain, but you have chosen time and time again to play it safe.

To my friends who support Barack Obama; you're not going to convince me to change my vote because there isn't a single major issue I agree with your candidate on. But I must say this... we have seen 8 years of a President who seems to think that there's no value in trying to articulate a vision to the country, and no need to fight back against what is often an unfair barrage of attacks by Republicans, Democrats, and the media. If a President of the United States becomes a punching bag, he or she is no longer effective. President Bush had a 90% approval rating during 9/11 and stayed above 50% for much of his first term, but then quickly slipped to numbers almost as low as the current Democratic Congress after deciding that he was above having to communicate to and WITH the people.

You work FOR the people, Mr. President. Act like it. John McCain has allowed himself to become a punching bag. You work FOR your supporters, Senator. Respect that and fight!

John McCain is a wise, tested leader. But hardly anyone sees that because he's too busy making bad jokes and talking about the DNA of a bear. Barack Obama is an arrogant, untested Senator with socialist ideas and a hunger for government domination. But no one sees that because he's too busy not talking about his record or his plans.

Who wins in that battle? Barack Obama. It's 2008. We're connected, busy people who make our decisions based on text messages, sound bites, SNL, and YouTube videos. You needed to play that game, Mr. McCain, and you didn't. You trusted that the American people would examine your record. They didn't have time.

Now, to be fair, you were never supposed to get this far, Senator. The atmosphere was too Anti-Republican for you to even stand a chance. But you overcame those astronomical odds and showed the power of conservative ideals. You needed that little extra bit of fight to put you over the top, Mr. McCain, and at some point along the line... you decided that Americans didn't want to see anger or passion. Wrong. That's exactly what we wanted to see.

The fact of the matter is, it has been widely reported that the majority of American's politics are more closely aligned to John McCain (center right) than Barack Obama (far left), and the inability to communicate that stark difference and to relate with the people who share those ideals... is a failure that SHOULD cost an election.

So, unless something changes SOON...

See ya in 2012.

I have a serious problem. It is in some ways profoundly humiliating and in others, just downright stupid, so please bear with me as I offer you a humble confession of one of my deepest, darkest secrets.

The computer in my bedroom had been meant for good. I was fourteen years old, and had been entrusted with a machine that provided me an unfiltered link to the outside world. It was late at night, and I was all alone - lonely, even - so I began typing words into search engines, which I’d never dared to explore on any previous occasion. Call it young curiosity, or old-fashioned foolishness; what my young mind was about to encounter was a complex and darkly intriguing new world I had never known existed. And there was no turning back.

It has been eight years and nothing has changed. I still find myself regularly staring at the 15” computer screen on my MacBook Pro, reloading heavily bookmarked websites over and over within the course of a single minute, screaming like a girl at a Jonas Brothers concert when my Internet connection fails or stutters, and worst of all… I find myself consumed by an alternate identity that few recognize or understand.

It is a monster that is aggressively addictive and steadily impersonal; temporarily satisfying and embarrassingly fake. I can’t live with it, but I can’t go on with out it. A girlfriend wouldn’t understand it, and a true friend wouldn’t allow it. It is my rise and my fall, my bread and my poison. And it is high time I confess this addiction to all of the world.

No. Not porn.

Worse. Politics.

I am addicted, in the truest sense, to the vicious world of political engagement.

It is not uncommon for me to have a web browser open to Politico, RealClearPolitics, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, ABC, Hot Air, and Town Hall all at once, all day long. It is not uncommon for me to find myself browsing these sites even as a friend on the phone pours out his emotional life story, in true need of my attention and compassion. Worst of all, it is not uncommon for me to forget eating, exercising, socializing, and occasionally breathing in order to focus on the latest and hottest headlines making their way across the world.

Somebody…help.

Nothing about this is healthy, but after years of developing my views and being saturated daily with information from a wide variety of news sources, I have become the ultimate media consumer; I have been transformed into one of the petty lemmings that drive media driven politics as we know it.

Seriously. Help.

I am an unashamed conservative, and take a lot of heat for it; particularly because I am a producer in Los Angeles where most, if not all, of my friends are either strict Democrats, or fierce anti-Republicans (and generally, both). While I wouldn’t necessarily call myself a Republican (unless of course I’m sucking up to one), I would say that my political beliefs are far enough to the right that I risk destroying opportunities of employment and possible business relationships if I choose to be real. The addiction, though, prevents me from shutting up.

My most prized political stances have not been shaped or forced upon me by any one particular radio program, newspaper, book or TV show. I have come to my conclusions about social issues, fiscal responsibilities, and foreign relations without the direction of any one partisan source; I am my own thinker, can come to my own conclusions, and I am proud of that fact.

In the midst of political stances, however, there is something troubling me so much that I am nearly ready to offer someone every possession I have for the opportunity to be cured of this… disease.

It is an emotion that haunts me. Whether I’m experiencing it or observing it, its presence is undeniable in politics. Its presence is inherent.

We call it hate.

A quick skim through the comment section of any political blog easily reveals the astonishing level of hate that exists for political candidates and their respective supporters. I’m not much help. If I am browsing a blog on Politico and happen upon some cruel statement directed at Senator McCain (whom I have decided to support), I’ll occasionally throw out a blisteringly witty attack post of my own, chuckle a bit in admiration of my new found zinger, then quickly surf to another site so as to avoid any potential confrontation a response to my quip might create. It isn’t about engagement at that point. It isn’t about discussion or understanding. It is about the self-satisfaction of knowing I’ve pissed someone off. It is about harshly addressing an Internet personality I’ve never met simply because I feel anger and hate towards their words.

Maybe ‘hate’ isn’t what it is. Maybe I don’t ‘hate.’ I hope I don’t ‘hate.’ I hope I’m just angry. My faith tells me I shouldn’t hate. My faith tells me to love my enemies (though it’s probably un-American to define Senator Obama and his supporters as my ‘enemy’). My faith tells me that hating is as bad as murder. Which leaves me in quite a bind, doesn’t it?

I suppose that what troubles me the most is that politics can bring this complex, deceitful and destructive emotion out of me and so many others with such ease and velocity. I think it is devastating, and I think it needs to be addressed in the context of the political landscape.

I would venture to say that many people who are engaged in national politics feel a stronger sense of ‘hate’ towards their party’s presidential opponent than they do towards crazy nutjobs like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Kim Jong-il, and Hugo Chavez.

I would venture to say that there are many Americans who ‘hate’ George Bush more than Osama bin Laden.

And I would venture to say that there are many voters who ‘hate’ because the late night comics, partisan commentators, and disconnected campaigns want us to hate.

We need reform in American politics if we are truly to become a better nation with a better people who are better informed and more open minded when it comes to leadership.

We must stop the domination of two flawed parties and allow for third party candidates to stand a fair chance. We must stop the ridiculous back and forth attack statements between competing politicians. We must stop the use of hundreds of millions of dollars (publicly funded or not) for commercials and pamphlets that don’t have a standard for truth. We must end the lack of direct interaction with curious voters who don’t want to know how a politician performs under lights with prepared remarks, but rather what he or she genuinely believes in and what he or she has accomplished. We must stop this absurd setup of only three presidential debates and make it a weekly requirement for candidates to stand on a stage together and field questions from the people they hope to represent. We must demand that the media stop capitalizing on one word fumbles and the occasional inability to instantly recall specific facts, because while making for a juicy story on the evening news, it is the primary reason politicians avoid being spontaneous and honest. It is the primary reason why true leaders don’t dare set foot in Washington.

Enough. Neither the Obama campaign nor the McCain campaign have done anything even remotely different in the way they have run their operations. Both promised change and openness. Both failed. Both promised truth and integrity. Both failed. Both promised that this would be an election that was about issues, records, votes, and ideas. Both failed far beyond measure.

Until things change, Washington won’t bring about hope and prosperity, peace and a bipartisan spirit. Until we have an American system of politics that allows us to know our leaders as they truly are, and not what their logos, ads, press releases, and surrogates define them to be – anger and hate will flourish and nothing will be accomplished.

When all you know of someone are their impersonal soundbites and distant, lofty speeches… hating is an awfully easy thing to do. Being the political addict that I am, I finally have come to the realization that a presidential campaign in 2008 is nothing more than a television show with a good guy, a bad guy, and some really bad actors. A presidential campaign in 2008 is as far from reality as it could possibly be.

I have a serious problem. It is in some ways profoundly challenging and in others, just downright annoying, but please bear with me as I offer you a humble confession of one of my deepest, darkest secrets: I hate that we hate and know we’re better than this. I only wish our politicians knew it too.