I wrote this piece in October, 2008. Please don’t think I was prescient. If that were true, I’d have moved to London to write for the BBC.

There is nothing like a political campaign to remind us all of one of the solemn responsibilities of American citizenship.

Participating in opinion polls.

These polls are so vital to the electoral process that the news media covers them relentlessly, often to the detriment of other stories, such as car chases or dissension at American Idol.

But, there’s a bright side.

These polls predict the outcome of elections sometime around St. Swithin’s Day, sparing most Americans the need to make last-minute dashes to their voting booths.

Polls have shown this factor alone has reduced rush-hour traffic accidents and eliminated the risk of getting caught in long lines of last-minute voters, thus missing House.

This is not to say that poll participants lead easy lives. Like other responsibilities of citizenship, except for buying SUVs, poll participation requires sacrifice.

First of all, you must be willing to answer your telephone personally. Remember, only in America is being called at all hours of the day and night a right and not a privilege.

Besides, one of the reasons we are the envy of the Free World is that nowhere else is the fate of a nation so completely in the hands of ordinary people who cannot hang up on total strangers who interrupts their dinners.

Second, you must be willing to skip fun things, like the monster truck finals, to carefully research your opinions.

One of the best ways to do this is by studying other polls. That way you can decide whether you want to stand with the majority of Americans or the minority of Americans. It will also keep you from winding up in the “No Opinion” category, which otherwise leads people to wonder if you are a nerd or just a married man.

Rest assured your sacrifices will not go unrewarded. For you will have earned the gratitude of all those Americans you have rescued from the inconveniences of voting.

Not to mention the need to form an opinion.