The definition of irony: having to pick a new 401(k) investment plan during the week of the country's biggest financial crisis in years. When I turn to a trusted friend to reassure me, she put it in perspective for me: "You can count on not having Social Security, so you better get to planning your retirement now."

I am sure I am not alone in worrying about my future. After several "good learning experiences" in my college education, I am strapped in student loan debt. I can't even begin to think about a mortgage to buy the sweet house I'm renting. (It would be a great place to start a family.) But I have a good job, right? And I'm secure in it? Well, I work in an industry that depends on consumer spending, so you be the judge.

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 Politics have invaded my workplace, and I’m pretty sure it’s all my fault. Every day, my boss and I have some sort of discussion on what just happened, and I seem to really have wound up the UPS man. It started so innocently. By the end of the conventions several co-workers were coming to me and we were having long, drawn out discussions about all things political.

During one such conversation, my colleague Kara told me that she was frustrated by the election coverage on TV. She laid out what she, as a voter, really wanted from the candidates.

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The conventions are over, the speeches have been given. The confetti has been swept up off the floor. In less than 60 days, voters will go to the polls to determine our fate, essentially. Any choice made in this election is going to have a profound impact on the future of the country. We stand at a crossroads with two very different paths ahead of us.

But what tools do voters have to make this important decision? All I’ve seen on TV in the last week is diversions, fights, bickering. I don’t care who said, “Lipstick on a Pig” first. I don’t want to hear it again.

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It’s been a nice summer, a relaxing one after that rollercoaster ride that was the Democratic Primary. But before the leaves start falling, the campaign trail will heat back up, and the match that will light the fire is about to be struck. Very soon (August 25-28th) the Democrats will converge on Denver for a convention culminating in a stadium speech by their presumptive nominee, Barack Obama. And on the first four days of September, the Republicans meet in Minneapolis, Minnesota to hold their convention and officially anoint John McCain as their chosen candidate.

It will be an exciting time for the country, and especially for those who are political junkies. And the horse race will be back on and won’t stop until November.

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We all learn at an early age that life is not fair. Life is full of unfair situations, and our society is chock full of double standards. I saw a Saturday Night Live skit during the primaries that showed Senator Obama being asked easy questions by the media and Senator Clinton being asked tougher questions, hopefully lampooning the situation, but some argue that it really happened like that. Did our society have a double standard when it came to Senator Obama and Senator Clinton?

Here’s another double s...

Barack Obama is all about change. Voting for a Democrat for President in Montana would be a big change in November, since we haven’t done it in over a decade. Obama’s banking on young people to help him deliver Montana, and I met one young Montanan, who’s ready for change, and ready to get his hands dirty to get Obama elected.

Colby is just 14, and not nearly old enough to vote. But this fall, you’ll see him making phone calls and knocking doors for Barack Obama. I stopped by an open house and met up with him again, and got a little insight on how Obama intends to win Montana. (And yes, Obama has six field offices in Montana so far, so perhaps that means that he does care if he wins Montana.)