There will be debates and rallies, speeches and editorials.

Some will knock on doors or make phone calls. Others will talk (and talk) on television while others pontificate (on and on) across America's radio airwaves.

Some will send out mass emailings to friends and coworkers, and still others will create web sites and videos.

But even with all of that, the most import action anyone can take ... is to vote.

So, if you're not registered to vote, get registered  (simply click HERE, and you can do it all online in a matter of minutes).  And if you already are registered, then make sure all of your friends are, as well, and are planning to vote.  And then, get to work.

Whether Democrat or Republican, Independent or on the fence, take some time before November 4, 2008 and really examine the candidates running for office.  People spend more time researching the purchase of a new car than they do deciding who they vote for ... and the consequences of their voting are considerably more far-reaching and long-lasting.

Dare to ignore the designated party affiliation and look closely at what each candidate has said and done in the past ... as well as what they promise for the future.  Just make sure that what they truly stand for is something that you can honestly believe in.

And while you're listening to the media, be mindful of the spin doctors and covert cronies with their subtle fabrications and well-placed deceptions ... for they do exist.  Regardless of who pulls their strings, the tools of their trade are baseless innuendos and unfounded smears concocted to distract us from the truth and to ruin the dreams of good people (like so-and-so not wearing a flag pin or refusing to say "The Pledge of Alliegence" or being a Muslim ... ).  Let's be smarter than to fall for those this time around.

If you're the kind of person who truly feels the need to "chose sides" and be comforted by affiliation with a specific group, just make sure your choice is made because of content of character ... and not the content of some misleading television commercial.

Too many votes are cast these days with a "club member" mentality - as if cheering on a favorite sports team to victory with no real consideration of the facts.  This is not about winning and losing, my friends.  It's not about "us" or "them" ... red states and blue states.  This is about our future, our children's and grandchildren's futures, and the kind of standing we have with our fellow citizens of the world.

Such matters are far too important to treat as hobby or sport.

And if by chance you believe as me, that after these last eight, painful years it's time to demand real change and a return to leadership driven by honesty, high ideals and a dedication to the American spirit ...

... then let me steer you toward a little HOPE.