I loathe politics and, by default, politicians. A year ago, I followed national politics with the typical ire of, probably, most folks – annoyance worthy of the occasional five-minute lamentation over a beer and not much else. I vote in the national elections but my busy schedule meant I didn’t always make it out for midterms or other elections. I didn’t see the direct correlation between my everyday life, or that of my children, with the local or state political mudslinging. To me, politicians, once elected, rest on their laurels and bide their time until the next cycle, avoiding news coverage but collecting soundbites and staged photos to roll out the next time their salary (or political stepping stone) was dependent on citizens like myself – ignorant and easily lured by flash-in-the-pan “leaders.”