It's hard to avoid the political theater under way in Utah County, where student leaders at Utah Valley State College have decided to spend $40,000 to bring in controversial filmmaker Michael Moore to speak.

Hard to ignore because Moore himself has been an "in your face" presence nationwide throughout this presidential election year.

As most people now know, the school has decided to invite a well-known conservative voice to speak as well, in the interest of balance. At the moment, radio talk show host Sean Hannity seems the most likely choice. He has gone as far as to suggest a debate with Moore, but school officials say that isn't likely.

Both events are likely to draw large crowds and plenty of media attention. But if any voters in Utah decide how to cast their vote for president based on the comments of either one, that would be truly disturbing.

We're all for an airing of ideas from all sides in the race for the White House. It's more than a little disappointing to hear some Utah conservatives complain that Moore shouldn't be allowed to speak at the school, as if the only speakers acceptable at Utah institutions are ones that reinforce the biases of the majority. However, far too much of what passes for political dialogue this year is really nothing more than meaningless prattle.

That goes for much of Moore's documentary, "Fahrenheit 9/11," as well as for much of what airs on talk radio, in general. Unfortunately, it also goes for nearly all of what President Bush and Sen. John Kerry are saying and broadcasting in commercials, as well.

The biggest campaign story in recent days has to do with whether CBS was duped into airing a story that used phony documents to question Bush's record in the National Guard. While that story seems more focused on CBS than on the president, it follows on the heels of ads questioning Kerry's war record in Vietnam. Neither has much to do with determining who is best suited to become president in 2005.

The Web site, www.factcheck.org, operated by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, is one of the few trustworthy nonpartisan sites available to scrutinize what is being said. Its latest offering, for example, takes the president to task for a commercial that falsely accuses Kerry of voting five times to raise Medicare premiums, and Kerry to task for an ad that says Bush alone is to blame for next year's rise in premiums.

This election season seems to be filled with heat but no light.

To make a responsible choice, voters need to examine the candidates' position on real issues. What do they intend to do specifically about rising Medicare costs? What are their specific plans for the future of Iraq? How would they make the nation safer?

That takes hard work. Unfortunately, the candidates themselves aren't helping much. And equally unfortunate is the likelihood that speakers who focused on those things wouldn't attract much of a crowd.