The 2008 election is less than a year away, and it's a time of great hope, of optimism, of promise. Well, promises at least.

        All the candidates say that they will fix the myriad problems facing us.  I'm sure that they mean it.  Of course, we can't expect anything to be done during the election year.  The problems should start being addressed in 2009, after the election.  Or maybe in 2011 after the midterm elections.

        In any case, the candidates all have one urgent problem: They need money.  According to CNN and TNS Media Intelligence, the cost to try to influence the 2008 election through the purchase of television time could exceed $3 billion--more than $800 million of it for the presidential race alone.

        I think $3 billion could be better spent in fixing problems.

        I'm not a cynic, for I know that there are honorable and principled people of both major parties who answer the call to public service.  Unfortunately, the system for getting there has degenerated into nothing more than a high-stakes money machine driven more by power and greed than by noble ideas for the good of our country.

        I don't regard this as a Republican or Democratic issue.  It is a bipartisan plague, and it threatens the life of our democracy.  That's why I am about as likely to donate to a political campaign as to the Paris Hilton Legal Defense Fund.

        Candidates could commit their time and energy to appearing on television and radio talk shows, free of charge, to discuss subjects in depth and answer questions.  They could cover tough issues in print and on their websites.  Instead, they prefer the compressed images and messages of television ads that last mere seconds, and are just the televised equivalent of bumper stickers.  The ads are aimed at voters who choose not to read, and who aren't curious enough to demand more than slogans.

        Complaining about campaign financing is like complaining about the weather.  Nobody really does anything about it.  But I'm going to do something:

        I won't donate to any campaign until our borders are secure, the hiring of illegal aliens stops, and there are workable safeguards against fraud using Social Security numbers.

        I'll write a check after our wounded warriors and disabled veterans are properly cared for.

        I'll start making campaign contributions after the Social Security system has been secured, something we've been talking about for decades.

        I'll write campaign checks after they've replaced our burdensome, unwieldy tax system with a flat tax or any plan that is simple, fair, and efficient.

        I'll donate after they get rid of the destructive, costly, and corruptive power of lobbying by special interests.

        I'll write a check to the party or candidate who mounts an aggressive, effective "Manhattan Project"--sized effort to achieve America's energy independence.  We have been talking about it since the 1970s, and we're worse off now than we were then.

        In the meantime, I'd rather send my contributions to the Salvation Army or the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, a privately funded nonprofit charity helping the families of military service members who have died or been severely disabled.

        I'll speak out, and I'll vote, but I won't write checks until politicians put principle above power and ideals above money.  We don't want the best government that money can buy; we want the best government.