Ch-ching! Money and politics, it’s that time of the year in America. The polls are open on the first Tuesday of November. Here’s what’s so striking in the 2010 mid-term elections: The personal is beyond anything ever seen in the past.

, as a candidate for governor of California, spent over $140,000,000 (that’s million.) The internet spawned a generation of exceedingly rich CEO’s and Meg’s stint at eBay was no exception.

I want to understand . There’s a little bit of awe still in me, for super-successful woman who grew up in the 60’s, and launched careers in the 70’s. If you’re young, and you don’t watch , you have no idea what it was like for strong women in previous generations. They just didn’t have the same chance as men.

But it’s now, and we have , , and . Women make up almost half of the workforce. The country has grown and prospered because of it, but it’s caught up. The job market is out of whack. When factories, office buildings, and retail became more efficient because of technology, wages didn’t keep up with the cost of living. Too many willing workers, male and female, made it a seller’s market for salaries. And still the economy grew, with two-income households and easy credit, we did OK… until we didn’t do OK anymore.

So what’s next, Meg Whitman? Can you fix the state of California? Can your sisters in success fix our broken world? Not likely, but I’ll tell you what; It’s not up to the Harvard MBA’s and the billionaire media queens. It’s up to us, ordinary women with good days and bad days. We can make a difference by being strong in our own ways. Are you a wonderful mother? Raise the next generation of innovators. Can you bake a mean batch of chocolate chip cookies? Make sure you share them with people who need sweetness, to turn their lives around. However brilliant or inconsequential your strengths may seem, use them for the greater good. And do not forget the greatest strength of all— the power of prayer.

I offer to you all that I am not,
to create with it all that I am.
Send Your forces around me, through me.
Permeate me.
Gently, yet boldly.
Undeniably.
With honor, I forgo all past violations of myself.
Through darkness I've crawled
just to meet you here.
All the sacrifice lies behind me.
Only Your love stands before me.
And now, may my power
finally lie within me.

-Melanie Brown