Welcome to Silly Season.

Last week, in sensationalistic journalism:

• The NY Times makes a front page story out of unfounded whispers of a McCain sex scandal.
• Newsweek starts calling for Clinton to step aside without allowing her the chance to compete in her March 4th firewall states.
• The International Herald Tribune reports that McCain may not be eligible for the presidency due to his birthplace -- a location that, by all accounts, is under U.S. jurisdiction.
• CNN questions whether Obama demonstrates the "proper patriotism" for a potential President.
• Drudge publishes a "smear" photo of Obama dressed as a Somali elder.
• MSNBC demonstrates that their moderators -- not the candidates themselves -- could win the last Democratic debate by leveling ridiculous hypotheticals and accusations of anti-Semitism.

No matter where you are, you can't escape the reports from this political cycle. Even those abroad have joined in, with The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian hot on the campaign trail. Apparently our vote to nominate the next presidential candidate trumps the importance of Kosovo's declaration of independence, the change of power in Cuba, the Exxon Valdez hearings, and the NY Philharmonic's visit to Pyongyang.

Let's face it: the world is hooked on U.S. politics, and our hunger for up-to-the-minute news needs to be satisfied. It hasn't been enough to split our votes into demographic blocs and spend hours analyzing potential trends. This extended primary race has failed to provide us with sufficient material, so the media has taken it upon themselves to start making it up as they go along.

What is wrong with us? As new photos from Abu Ghraib are released and the economy continues its steady decline, this is what we focus on? Whether McCain is eligible for election (he is), Clinton is justified staying in (she is), or Obama displays "proper patriotism" (ridiculously subjective, but he's certainly patriotic)?

We all need to step back for a moment and realize what is at stake here. At the very least, let's shift the focus back on the issues -- you know, the positions that will end up changing the course of this country for the next four years.

Perhaps this has been one of the more civil primary seasons in recent memory, but it certainly has not been any less absurd.