Coverage of this election -- supposedly the most important one in my lifetime -- has been abysmal. And mainstream and independent news organizations have shown their true colors. Major TV news networks have happily forgone truth and fact in the name of balancing perspectives, as this piece points out. Our national newspapers of record have been mediocre at best, coupling valuable, well researched stories with inane punditry and talking points. Some of my preferred (The Nation) and not-so-preferred (Huffington Post) independent publications have proven themselves so compulsively partisan that I barely find them worth reading -- the stories I see from them daily are mostly choir-preaching, pun-laden rants that add little to the public discourse. As much as anybody of my political ilk, I want John McCain to lose this election, and it's looking more likely that he will. But no matter the outcome, the biggest disappointment is going to be looking back and realizing that it was covered with the whimsy and stupidity of a reality TV show.