The women standing in line ahead of me at the Stoughton Wal-Mart reacted angrily to the news that General Motors is cutting jobs in Janesville.

"All those politicians say they have answers, but none of them do, " one snarled. "Well, I can tell you one thing about it: I 'm not going to vote! "

It 's not what she said that bothered me. What bothered me is that I am beginning to agree with her.

Just think of the news you have read and seen on the television recently.

General Motors is cutting 756 jobs in Janesville. Some economists are predicting that gasoline could cost $7 a gallon within four years. The investment firm Goldman Sachs predicted this week oil will sell for $200 a barrel within two years. That 's a number that won 't encourage car buyers to look at SUVs built in Janesville.

Some 80 Dane County families faced foreclosures on their homes in March. That 's the good news. In February, 131 families faced losing their homes.

The Federal Reserve cuts interest rates to help ease the recession, and the result is that the elderly receive less interest on their savings. Two Wisconsin Marine Corps reservists were killed, and a third wounded, in an Iraq bombing two weeks ago. That brings the number of Wisconsin deaths in Iraq to 89.

It 's not that those women in Wal-Mart don 't understand the situation. They understand the situation all too well. What they don 't understand are the solutions proposed by our presidential candidates.

Hillary Clinton and John McCain are touting a gas tax holiday. They would stop collecting the 18.4 cents per gallon federal gasoline tax through the summer.

For reference, consider this: The cost of gasoline on Fish Hatchery Road was $3.56 per gallon at noon Tuesday. At 3 p.m., the cost was $3.70. The price increased 14 cents per gallon over a long lunch hour.

I drive about 400 miles a week. Cutting the tax would save me about $60 over the course of the summer if I drive my aging Oldsmobile SUV and average 15 mpg. I 'd save about $15 over the course of the summer if I drive my Prius.

Also, since the leaders of Congress oppose the measure, it 's not going to happen this year. The entire debate is nonsense.

I have a little more hope for Barack Obama because he promises not only to solve our problems but to do so by changing the way we look at governing.

That 's absolutely essential, but what I don 't know is whether Obama can actually accomplish it. The vested interests in our society aren 't limited to lobbyists and oil companies. The success of Obama 's enemies in keeping his religious affiliation front and center for more than a month is a warning that those who have power now plan to keep it.

Each of the candidates promises to do something about health insurance. But Clinton has already tried and failed. McCain 's solution is to undermine employer-sponsored insurance. Obama promises to pay for his plan using money saved by ending the war in Iraq.

The problem is that we 've borrowed all the money we spent on the war. There isn 't some magic pot to draw from.

I will surely vote in November, and I will encourage everyone else I know to vote, too. I believe in voting.

But, when I listen to those women in Wal-Mart, I can 't help wondering if they might not have a more accurate understanding of the situation than I do.

Contact Wineke at bwineke@madison.com or at 252-6146. Read Wineke 's blog at www.madison.com/wsj/blogs.