I think this is great progress that we're introducing more diversity into Congress. Although I still think that it would be even better to introduce more diversity (like 50% female) into Congress, this is a step in the right direction and I know that we'll get there eventually. What do you guys think? Is this an important step for Congress?

This article illuminate hows in the final days of the campaign, Obama and Romney are going to back to their original campaign talking points: jobs. Do you guys think that jobs are really the ultimate issue in this election?

This article outlines many of Romney's Ryan's views on Obama and his plans and policies for the country. I found this to be especially interesting: "Obama is simply offering more of the same." Do you think this is true? Is Obama offering exactly the same plans he did four years ago?

This article outlines topics that The Atlantic believes should be debated about more. This is a very liberal source; do you guys think that a conservative source would have a very different list? What topics do you want to see debated?

This article explains where each of the candidates stand in polls after the debate. Interestingly, according to the polls shown here, 51% of voters like Romney and 56% like Obama, meaning there are a significant amount of people that like both. Also, it definitively says that Romney won the debate. Who do you think won?

This isn't an article but Mitt Romney's views, as put forth by his campaign, on same-sex marriage. The quote at the top seems a bit contradictory to me-he says "I've also opposed unjust discrimination against anyone…for sexual preference", but then goes on to oppose same-sex marriage very strongly. Additionally, in the "Consequences" section, he doesn't seem to list any consequences. It also seems odd that one of his points is that "every child deserves a father and mother" when many children don't even have two parents. What do you guys think?

This is an article about the release of Romney's tax returns for 2011, and whether or not he is being completely honest in saying that he paid 14.1% because he can go back later and get returns for his charitable donations. He argues that not doing so would discourage people from donating. I'm not sure about this quote, "As was widely noted, Romney has also said that he considers claiming every possible legal deduction an ethical test, with rather distinctive terms: if you pay any more than you really, really must, you have failed." I think that for many Americans, this is completely true, but for someone with such a high income, it seems unfair. But isn't fairness the same thing for everyone? What do you guys think?

Savannah, I'm not suggesting that people should be punished for working hard. But how much money you make is not always an accurate representation of how hard someone works. And I'm not sure about what I think is "fair". Yes, everyone paying the same taxes would be fair in one way. But some people work extremely hard and still don't have a lot of money and still need help from the government. Some people make exorbitant amounts of money and don't work all that hard. Doesn't it seem fair for people who need help to be able to get it? That's what I'm suggesting. I'm not encouraging laziness or punishing people for hard work. As for what you said, "it makes me respect Romney more because he knows how to work the system to his (and America's) advantage", it seems to me that there are two parts of this. One is that he understand the system. That's a good thing. The other is that he knows how to manipulate it to appear as something that he is not. That's not a good thing.

But about Romney's tax exemptions-that's not what happened. He purposely overpaid to match an earlier estimate that he made. He didn't claim all the exemptions that he could have. Maybe that wasn't clear in the article I posted, but here's a quote from another one: "We know, for instance, that Romney paid a rate of 14.1 percent on $13.7 million in income on his 2011 tax return, which he achieved by purposely overpaying. Though he was entitled to deduct $4 million in charitable contributions, Romney deducted only $2.25 million to keep his tax rate above 13 percent." Here's the link to that article: http://www.propublica.org/article/what-we-still-dont-know-about-mitt-romneys-taxes

What's interesting about this article is that it seems to criticize the campaigning tactics on both sides as being too negative and relying too much on garbled quotes from the other side.

This article offers a more conservative view of Obama's promises, past and present. It argues that while Obama is making plans for other aspects of the country, what he really needs to be focusing on is the economy.

This article is about the struggle to win Ohio-a very divided state that seems to be necessary for either candidate to win. It outlines the tactics that each candidate is taking there while campaigning this weekend.