In this day of 'teleprompters and professional speech writers', it is hard to really know the candidates. One of our Vice Presidential candidates is a virtually unknown entity to a vast majority of us. It is nearly impossible to sort out the facts and the myths surrounding her.

Will we ever be given the opportunity to hear directly from her, without her being carefully shielded? Will we ever find any substance, or will we continually be exposed only to her quick wit and charismatic personality? This isn't a beauty contest or talent show!

However, it is perfectly ligitimate to look at how these candidates handle their everyday lives, when they aren't under the glare of lights and surrounded by professional managers and make up artists. In other words, we need to see them in the morning before they get the veneer that covers their real identity. We need to see them and how they face everyday disappointments, conflicts, and challenges. Yes, it is important to know their families and who they socialize with and what they do when not on the job.

These people who are aspiring to be national leaders are not common ordinary folks that most of us would be able to fit right in with. They don't face the same everyday challenges that you and I do. There is something that sets them apart from the crowd. We need to find out what those things are.

Is it wealth they have inherited? Is it wealth they have earned with their own entrepreneurial skills? Is it privilege that shielded them from the realities of life? Do they have genuine compassion and concern for their fellowman, regardless of race, gender, ethnic background, wealth, education, mental capacity? Is it a selfish ego driven need to dominate and control?

But, even after you 'vet' the candidates for public office, we live in a partisan nation that is dependent upon cooperation, in order for our government to meet the needs and desires of all of us. It is important then to know and understand the partisan platforms that indicate how they will differenciate between needs and desires. We need to evaluate for ourselves whether one or the other major parties satisfy our standards that determine how we look at needs, desires, equality, and individual responsibilities.

Our sitting President has always talked about how everything he does or every decision he makes is 'hard work'. Maintaining a democracy that protects all its citizens and still encourages individual responsibility is hard work! It is hard work for each one of us to study the issues, understand the political platforms, and know the candidates that we are electing.

The silly arguments about who is and isn't qualified; who is wearing lipstick and who isn't; who was for and now is against; who is patriotic and who isn't; who is genuine in their religion and who isn't; who knows their Bible and who doesn't – All of these trifles don't make it any easier to choose your candidate.