> Blah, blah, informed electorate. Meanwhile most people have little or no grasp of the basics of political philosophy and economics, the history of both, are terrible critical readers, know little about the actual structure and functions of their government, and so on, so if your concern is being able to evaluate policy so you can make better choices in the voting booth start with those things.

This is so true. I am always surprised at how many otherwise intelligent news junkies I encounter who, for example, don't understand the difference between the House and Senate.