What a difference a year makes. Last November there was a rush to register voters and poll workers anticipated long unruly lines of people waiting to exercise their right to vote. I remember the sense of a "grass roots coming out party" where folks who had never been involved in the political process were fully engaged.

Thousands of people from both political parties attended rallies to hear the candidates speak. The people peppered the politicians with questions — and expected answers. Candidates wore out shoe leather canvassing neighborhoods, campaign workers called during the dinner hour and everyone — including the candidates — were blogging their fingers off.

By comparison, you could hear a pin drop this year. Election Day is Tuesday, but all viewers, listeners and readers are getting is the noise of political rhetoric that has taken over the airwaves.

Is it a collective case of short-term memory loss? Do we like our politics like our fast food? Give it to me fast, make it easy to eat, give me a to-go bag and I won't remember what gave me heartburn the next day.

Political consumers do not appear to be fired up this November. And it's not for lack of trying on the part of the slate of candidates who have been trying to get your attention. From General Assembly district races to the big-stakes governor's race, the name calling and dog barking commercials can be heard every few minutes during the 24-hour radio and television broadcast day.

With special effects and a voice of doom announcer, the typical negative political ad says the opposing candidate hates his mother, kicks dogs and is mean to babies, while the candidate who approved the message is poised to save the world.

I'm exaggerating right? Not by much when you consider what is being offered up as campaign promises.

Candidate Perfection can create jobs, lower taxes, improve transportation without raising taxes, and give all public teachers a substantial raise. Nothing, however, quite has the sting or the aftertaste as a negative ad.

Remember the 1990 television ad for North Carolina Republican Sen. Jesse Helms? Many analysts argue it sunk his opponent in 30 seconds. The ad showed white hands crumpling a job rejection letter while a narrator criticized Helm's black opponent, Harvey Gantt, for supporting "racial quotas."

It may have been inaccurate, it may have been over the top, it may have been an outright lie, but it was perfectly legal and Gantt lost the race.

How is it possible for these ads to go unchecked? You can thank the Communications Act of 1934 which made an important distinction between candidate ads and product ads. In a nutshell, broadcasters have the option to refuse all deceptive advertising — except political commercials.

It was Benjamin Franklin who said: "Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see."

No one is listening, Ben.

Campaign strategists believe negative campaigning works. They must, considering a third of all the current political ads contain a negative tone.

My mother offered this bit of advice many years ago that I wish she could phone in to the slate of candidates vying for office: "Talking bad about somebody doesn't make you look better."

It's difficult to learn anything of substance from a 30-second spot featuring a candidate who either wants you to believe the best about him or the worst about his opponent. That said, the candidates and those who support them are willing to pay big bucks in prime-time to have your ear as you sit on your living room sofa watching your favorite programs.

In prime time, a campaign pays $2,000 to $5,000 for one 30-second spot to broadcast their agenda. That's the sound of music to account executives in radio and TV, who hear a cha-ching each time candidates spew their rants.

But how much of the political rant is reality? What the ads don't tell us is that politics is a team sport. Members of the General Assembly have one voice and one vote. Alone they can't create jobs, raise teacher pay, build a third crossing or cure what ails the environment. Successful lawmakers have to have the ability to build a consensus among Democrat and Republican colleagues to support the ideas that got them elected. The governor can veto a bill he doesn't like, but even he can be overridden by two-thirds of the vote in each house.

I appreciate that candidates want to keep their messages simple. But there's too much at stake to place my bet on a sound-bite.

I want to know what they aspire to do and I want to know how they are going to do it. That request requires a meal, not a fast food snack.

Ciara is a news anchor at WTKR NewsChannel 3. Her new column will run on the first Monday of the month. She can be reached at Barbara.ciara@wtkr.com or at 446-1344.