In less than a week, we will have the mid-term elections. We’ve see most of the same faces, switching places or careers and campaigning with the usual truckload of promises that they know they won’t be able to keep, "humbly asking for our vote" to send them to Congress in Washington, D.C., or to be our governor, state senator and so on.

We know that politicians will say almost anything to get elected; they will shake thousands of hands; wave a myriad of signs along the roads; tell us of their qualifications and impeccable resume for the job, although it is common knowledge that the nearest a person gets to perfection is when they prepare their resume.

The candidates will tell us that they have a plan to make things better for all of us but never tell us what the detailed plan is, perhaps because they really don’t have one. And they don’t seem to realize how repetitive they are, delivering the same old speeches that we have heard many times before, making the same promises, and yet, we keep voting them in office.

Rarely do we see new faces. Those who have disappeared for a while come back again to have another run.

Like warmed-up yesterday’s lunch, counting on the fact that perhaps some voters are lazy and they go for name recognition that vaguely comes to their minds, that others perhaps have forgotten that those politicians have already been discarded before.

And then there is the new generation of voters that maybe, fingers crossed, haven’t seen them or heard of them before.

I am always intrigued as to why politicians running for office love to call themselves leaders. Politicians don’t lead — they propose, they negotiate, they compromise, they make deals; but lead? In a democracy one governs by consensus and agreements.

I believe "leader" means one who leads or guides, or one who is in charge or in command of others. But I must admit: the words "leader and leadership," although in most cases not really applicable, are appealing.

I hope that electors don’t base their decisions to vote for a candidate based on the color of their skin, their religion, race, gender or party affiliation. I hope that they will vote for the most able and qualified person who can represent the best interests of Hawaii.

I am hoping that there will come the day when political candidates running for office would not only debate among themselves on television, but they would debate with us, the people, answer spontaneous questions, detail plans spelling out clearly what they are going to do for us and maintain their commitments. Yes — commitments, not promises. And when in office, they should remain accessible to the people who elected them to serve.