How many times have we heard the statement, "This is just politics", made during some of the lowest points of this election? The people who make it act as if there is some immutable law of nature at work here. That we have no control over how we're talked to/at. That we have to suffer being regularly pandered to and lied to and pushed to the sidelines as if we have no say in how these things play out. John Edwards gets a $400 haircut; Hillary Clinton was in the White House with a blue dress; Barack Obama went to a school in Indonesia. All the while, the media plays on tire swings at John McCain's "cabin" in Arizona. Is this really how we want to spend this historic election?

After last night's debate, I'm saying "no more!". With feedback from Daily Kos readers, I created a petition telling the news media that we want a new kind of politics. The petition is intentionally general in scope because I, like many, saw last night's debate as a symptom rather than the entire problem. I'm tired of hearing "this is politics" as an excuse for having my intelligence and my integrity insulted on a regular basis. This is politics because we let it be politics. And we need to change that!

If you agree, please sign and help promote this petition: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/new-news.

Let the media know that we, the people, determine what's politics!

(sorry for the high horse...if only they didn't make me so angry!)