This is a period of “dead air” in American politics. Nothing anyone says matters. Everything is just sound and fury signifying nothing. The “issues” you are being asked to care about are by and large distractions. For example, when an Obama aide says Ann Romney never worked a day in her life and the Romney camp responds that the Democrats are waging a war on women, how can anyone take the ensuing “debate” seriously?

I am sure Ann Romney never worked a day in her life, not in a factory, not in an office and not at home. To say she is a stay-at-home mom is like calling the Queen of England a housewife. Nobody who lives in four houses at the same time and takes an elevator from her garage to her living room is a stay-at-home mom. Unless you consider supervising the various household staffs “work,”  and I bet Mrs. Romney has a housekeeper (or four) to do that, too.

But it gives the TV pundits something to rant about now that Trayvon’s killer has been arrested. And by the way, I bet the shooter will be convicted of manslaughter (not murder) and the whole sad business will disappear from the airwaves to be replaced by another nine-day wonder.

But back to Romney. The Republican primary race is over. It was fixed of course. The Republicans are just going through the motions until the convention in Tampa August 27 – 30. That’s when the real political season will begin.

It’s shaping up to be a disappointing political season. With a third of the electorate sure to vote against President Obama and another third pretty sure to vote for him, the contest will be for the hearts and minds of the third in the middle, and they know squat about any of the real issues. These “independents” include a lot of know-nothing slackers who watch “American Idol” and “Dancing with the Stars” when they should be kistening to Rachel (and if you don’t know who Rachel is you’re probably one of them). 

If they bother to go to the polls, they’ll be bringing a wealth of ignorance with them, and the way they vote will be anybody’s guess. But that won’t stop the president and Mitt Romney from courting them. Those two will be tripping over each other in a panic to get to “the center.”

Yeah, I know. Right-of-Santorum Romney, the same guy who complained that the other Republican candidiates were too liberal.  But all of his extremist ravings will be history as he tries to sound like a calm, reasonable moderate that you might trust with the nation’s economy (and that Doomsday button).

He won’t need to say crazy things any more because he knows the Republican “base” would never vote for “the anti-Christ” in the White House.

And the president knows union leaders and union members aren’t likely to vote for a “vulture capitalist” like Romney. And he can count on “progresives’ to give him their vote regardless of their grumbling. He has my vote and probably yours. So why should he butter us up?

He’ll be talking to the voters in “the middle.”

So will Romney.

And the voters in “the middle’ won’t hear a word. They’ll be watching “American Idol” or Dancing with the Stars.”