The final presidential debate takes place tonight. This is a good thing.

It seems that the last debate was a lot of Bush and Kerry repeating what Cheney and Edwards were already repeating in their debate. I think the talking points have been distilled down far enough. There's really been nothing new for a while now. I wonder what the undecided voters are waiting for to make their decision. Is there going to be a huge revelation tonight from either side? At least there'll be a chance to invoke the name of Christopher Reeve. Didn't have that last Friday.

Polls show that Blacks are largely ambivalent about the Democratic candidate, which isn't a good sign for them or the Democrats. Everyone will tell you this is the most important election of their lifetimes, the century, "our generation." People who haven't voted in 20 years are registered. Fistfights are breaking out at family barbeques. But the fact is that in the forseeable future, the rich will get richer, the poor will get poorer, and most people's lives will continue to be affected by their day to day interactions with other individuals, not by whether Bush believes Kerry will raise taxes (for some) or Kerry believes Bush will lower them (for others).

My advise is to turn the sound down on the debate tonight and spend that time researching your local races. These are just as important (some would say more, especially in a place like New York). And at the end of that hour and a half you'll know far more about what your vote will mean than if you'd listened to the same tired soundbites, accusations, and name calling live from Tempe.