Take Me To Post Comment Form Half a million Georgians have taken advantage of the early voting option; Secretary of State Karen Handel is aiming for a million early voters to take the strain off the precincts on November 4, because we are expected to turn out to vote in unprecedentedly huge numbers...isn't that marvelous?

All across the U.S., citizens are taking part in the electoral process, claiming ownership of the government like never before. They're listening, they're discussing, they're writing in blogs, they're expressing their viewpoints. Sure, some of them are bombastic and screechy with tenuous grips on facts but, hey, they're ENGAGED in the process, and that counts for something.

It's as if, as a nation, we've all suddenly remembered that this is a government "of the people, by the people, for the people." Regardless of party affiliation, the fact that we're all so ardently attentive can only be a good thing.