I breathed a sigh of relief last Tuesday: Election Day! No more semi-literate letters to the editor in the local papers denigrating one candidate or lauding another, no more unsightly forests of signs clustered on every street corner and bare patch of ground. Best of all, an end to the TV and radio ads repeated with such monotonous regularity. Mud-slinging and negative or not, those spots just become overwhelming after you’ve heard and seen them for weeks on end. (My daughter, who lives in Portland, Ore., just across the Columbia River from Vancouver, Wash., points out that she has the unenviable position of being assailed by candidates and issues from two states.) Ah, but silly me, I’d forgotten that those advertising slots formerly occupied by political messages would, come Wednesday morning, immediately be filled by . . . holiday ads! Suddenly commercials for toys from tots to teens have replaced the investment banking and credit card ads on the morning news shows. And yesterday, as I was watching a college football game, in amongst the beer and hardware store ads was a seemingly misplaced jewelry store ad, all dewy and romantic. But of course! Got to start working early on the guys, encouraging them to choose a really wow gift for their sweethearts — even if they won’t pick them up until Christmas Eve. I don’t know why those campaign and holiday ads get under my skin so much. Perhaps it’s just the endless repetition or the fact that they often lack some of the humor, intelligence and production values of the national consumer ads. And the mute button on the remote works just as well on all of them. But, in this month when we give thanks for all that we have, I have to pause and realize that I am thankful that I have the right to vote for this country’s political leaders and express my opinion on the issues. I live in a land of plenty, especially compared to a good portion of the world, and I have access to just about anything a person could wish to buy (assuming, of course I have the funds or the credit card limit to buy it!). So I’ll try to keep that attitude of thankfulness in mind as yet another cheery toy commercial pops up on the television. — Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor