Knowledge vs. understanding in this election year

Like many on the right, I remain dumbstruck over how many voters continue to support this administration.

And I'm not referencing the "impartial" polls that show skewed results to drive opinion.

I recently read Mitch Albom's new book "The Time Keeper" as a diversion from politics.

And though this new novel is about time and how we measure life, there was a political nugget hidden in the novel's message.

The narrator of the novel speaks of the difference between knowledge and understanding.

It seems to me that most voters -- though certainly not all -- have some level of knowledge about the current state of politics in this nation.

Fewer still have any level of understanding on just what this knowledge means.

For example, most voters know we have an out of control federal deficit. But far too few understand the massive impact of this growing debt.

When your household budget is measured by hundreds, the concept of $16 trillion is beyond our grasp.

Most voters know something about the new federal health plan. But very few understand the negative impact that looms large from this impending disaster.

An administration spokesman was a guest on a Sunday morning talkfest this week.

Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic Party, said elections were not about understanding programs.

He said elections were about style and presentation.

The details, he said, come after the election.

Many people have knowledge but few have understanding.

Keep reminding yourself of that assessment.

So here's the bottom line.

We all know of the arrogance, the misrepresentations, the misguided spending, the decreased personal income and the dwindling middle class.

We know of the debt and our nation's diminished influence in the world.

But do enough people understand to make a difference?

Don't worry. It's just your future that's at stake.