How about some issues?

Tired of a national political campaign that sometimes seems like Dancing With the Stars (without the pizazz)? Want to grapple with the actual issues instead of the superficialities that dominate the news and the canned responses that pass for “debates”?

This week’s issue of The Economist contains an excellent special section on the election, featuring analysis of the issues and the candidates’ positions on them. It covers the economy; regulation and trade; foreign policy; Iraq and Afghanistan; health care; immigration; energy and the environment; education; crime; and values.

This is the kind of analysis the rest of the media owes us — and never gives us. It’s not talk radio partisan bloviating; it’s not TV news infotainment — this is real substance, put together in a package that is easily read in an evening.

The Economist is available at Barnes & Noble and online. It’s well worth tracking down, whether you’ve made up your mind or not.

Jim Cornelius, Editor