I know that this is the silly season as far as politics is concerned, but it seems to me that we have forgotten how to debate issues and to treat people with respect.  I heard a pro-Obama add today criticizing McCain for the number of houses he owns.  What has that got to do with anything?  Where was the criticism of the number of houses that John Kerry owns?  It is fair to expose past actions of the candidates that expose character traits, but why are the people running the campaigns focusing on trivia?  Both of these men have policies and votes on past issues, we need to see those votes, not trivial pursuit.  The house issue may have been brought up because the Chicago press has raised many questions about the purchase of the Obama’s house.  The best defense is a good offense, but I really think the whole ad was dumb.