In six more days, this long national nightmare of an election will be over.
The campaigning, which seemed to start the day after the 2008 presidential election has been nasty, brutal and expensive.

In the current economy, it seems almost criminal that millions of dollars was spent on political ads targeted at voters who have benefited more from seeing that money infused into the general economy.

Locally, we've learned this season that politics at the local level aren't very different from the kind nationally. However, we still firmly believe that national politics and political parties should have no bearing on how voters cast their ballots locally.

We need good leadership, and we can only hope that the nearly 20,000 voters who have already gone to the polls and the tens of thousands who will vote Tuesday have and will show discernment in choosing the best person, not following a herd mentality that can lead to the election of a political hack just because of the letter behind his name.

The tension created in this election season has been as high as ever and has lead to sniping, character assassination and distrust.

We hope that once the races have been decided citizens from both parties and from all walks of life can come together again and work together toward the same goal of making Newton County a safer, more productive and more prosperous place than ever before.

One thing this county doesn't need is for people to immediately begin the process of attacking and undermining the integrity and credibility of those just elected. If, in four years, officials haven't done their jobs, then we can attack their record, but until then let's work on solving issues not racking up political points.