The election is nearly over

Boy, am I glad that the election is nearly over.

The inane ads from all parts of the political spectrum are pathetic and we shall be wonderfully freed of them come Saturday.

However, the underlying childishness will still be there - no matter the make up of next parliament.

Many people view politicians with very little respect. You would have thought that the institution which has the power to influence the life of every man, woman and child in this country would be held in higher regard. Yet it is not. Why? Because despite all the good work that goes on the lasting image we have is of pompous MP's hlding up cardboard signs at press conferences, or the PM explaining why it isn't actually her signature on the bottom of a painting. Not biggies in the wider picture I hear you say. Unfortunately, that IS the wider picture. If (or maybe that should be "when") we see our politicians engage in silly behaviour knowing full well that they are going to be under scrutiny from their electorate, it is reasonable to expect them to be doing equally silly stuff at other times.

Bill English says something dorky. Yeah, like Michael Cullen doesn't say stuff that makes me cringe (rich pricks, anyone?). Even Helen Clark's "You might be able to shout at home" comment was unworthy of a PM. How about banning Dihydrogen monoxide? I'm sorry but the starting point with politicians is to assume he/she is a clown until proven otherwise.

Will we ever see the day when the political parties (especially the two big ones) do not need to descend into muck racking to defeat an opponent?