I am generally a bit suspicious about politicians. In the past I have intoned a mythical credo that anybody who runs for elected office is automatically unqualified for the post. Obviously that is untrue, but sometimes I wonder exactly how far is it from the truth?

Consider the current senatorial race in New Jersey. This is a state which has a history of dirty politics. Mention Hudson County to anybody from elsewhere in the state and they are likely to shake their head in disgust (And please don’t call me a Jersey-basher. I was born and raised in Hudson County, and when I applied for a passport last year I was told that my birth certificate was unacceptable because all Hudson County birth certificates had been disqualified by the federal government). And we’ve had some dirty elections in the past. Anybody remember Bob Torricelli?

But this year’s election has reached new depths of mudslinging even for New Jersey. Is there a single Bob Menendez or Tom Kean, Jr. ad which does not spend most, or even all, of its time bashing the integrity and ethics of the other candidate? Does either of those candidates actually have a platform of their own? And is there any remote chance the winner of the election will help raise the image of a Congress struggling under its own scandals in recent years?

Just don’t blame me for the failings of the winner of the senatorial election. I plan to write in my own name for senator from New Jersey. That’s one less vote that will go to a mudslinging clown (perhaps just to an ethical clown instead...)