Indulge me in a rant about interest group questionnaires and the absurd length contained therein to ensure a candidate is a purist before he or she can receive the group’s nod, its mailing list and a donation from its PAC. Were we not taught in civics classes that we are a republic with the people electing representatives “hired” to use their intelligence and commonsense to weigh complicated matters most of us don’t have time to study and then decide what the greatest good is for the greatest number? Instead, many interest groups only want an automaton, a robot that will vote their way on issues of import to their agenda 100 percent of the time. Use your own judgment? Heaven forbid/Chris Carlson, The Carlson Chronicles. More here.

• Obama's race/Me&G, 43rd State Blues
• A wild Idaho hero honored/Rick Johnson, ICL
• Idaho AARP to deliver 20,000 petitions against entitlement cuts/Dan Popkey, Statesman

Question: Are candidate responses to questionnaires of a favorite organization important to you?