By Dave Begel Contributing Writer Published Oct 08, 2012 at 12:20 PM

I can hardly bear to turn on my television set because I am so sick of election campaigns.

From the governor's race through the recall, through the senate primary and now through the Obama/Romney thing, I am sick of it. I'm sick of lies and complaints and accusations and claims and counterclaims.

I can hardly wait for the whole thing to be over.

This past weekend things reached some kind of nadir for me as the cable channels and just about everyone else reported breathlessly about the amount of money the two presidential candidates raised last month.

Obama raised this incredible amount ($53 gazillion or something) and Romney did him one better with something like $54 gazillion or something. I could hardly believe it.

The lead item on the news was about how much money these two campaigns had raised. I was stunned, but it gave me an idea.

Let's not even vote any more. Let's just have a time frame and let the candidates go raise money. Whoever gets the most money in that time frame gets to be president. And the loser has to give all his money to charity.

Can't be any worse than the system we have now.

Dave Begel Contributing Writer

With a history in Milwaukee stretching back decades, Dave tries to bring a unique perspective to his writing, whether it's sports, politics, theater or any other issue.

He's seen Milwaukee grow, suffer pangs of growth, strive for success and has been involved in many efforts to both shape and re-shape the city. He's a happy man, now that he's quit playing golf, and enjoys music, his children and grandchildren and the myriad of sports in this state. He loves great food and hates bullies and people who think they are smarter than everyone else.

This whole Internet thing continues to baffle him, but he's willing to play the game as long as OnMilwaukee.com keeps lending him a helping hand. He is constantly amazed that just a few dedicated people can provide so much news and information to a hungry public.

Despite some opinions to the contrary, Dave likes most stuff. But he is a skeptic who constantly wonders about the world around him. So many questions, so few answers.