Yes, we should be electing politicians to be politicians again. We should be electing people who have their own perspective on government, but who aren't so entrenched in ideology -- and in sticking it to the other side -- that they don't know how to work together for the common good.

And, while we're at it, let's get past the infantile notion that elected officials are also moral leaders. Let's quit letting ourselves get sucker-punched by candidates who sound pious and line up the most clergy in their corner, all the while laughing at our gullibility.

The American voter must grow up or the downward spiral of vapid incompetence and opportinism we've come to expect in elected officials is only going to get worse. And, yes, it can get worse. This isn't about conservatism or liberalism. It's about people taking responsibility for their own lives and giving up on the notion of elected messiahs.