As political discourse and debate inevitably take over the media during the run-up to the presidential election, relief from the plethora of talking heads can be found in an array of highly relevant art now on display in museums, galleries and alternative spaces around town.

The DART picks below include blinding glimpses of the obvious as well as highly conceptual ways of expressing and exploring political beliefs. From caricature and illustration, campaign memorabilia, reenactments of history-making protest speeches, and soap box speeches by the public at large, there's much to choose from. A number of shows include public programs as well. Please check websites for information.

But if you need a jab and a jolt while toiling away at the office, don't forget to visit Steve Brodner's Naked Campaign blog at The New Yorker. His latest skeweree is, you guessed it! Sara Palin.

Left and right, from Campaigning for President, New York and the American Election, at Museum of the City of New York: Garfield mechanical metal nose-thumber and Al Smith for President pin.  Center: Creative Time's Democracy in America at the Park Avenue Armory, photo by Meghan McInnis.

Last Chance: Democracy in America - The National Campaign, closing Saturday, September 27. Creative Time's Nato Thompson and company went cross country for a year to find out what artists, activists and townspeople were thinking about democracy and politics today. The result is an extraordinary installation that takes over the historic Park Avenue Armory's drill hall plus another two floors of space. With works that are conceptual, sometimes interactive, often performative, and variably cranky, provocative, or humorous, the installation runs until 10:00 pm every night this week. Some of the featured artists and organizations are: Karen Finley, the GuerillaGirls, ABCNoRio, Pia Lindman, and David Harvey.
Creative Time at the Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue at 67^th Street, NYC.

Last Chance: Politics 08, closing Saturday, October 4. Curated by Edel Rodriguez, former Art Director at TIME magazine, the exhibition presents original art concerned with this year's primaries and elections. It features images from magazines and newspapers of all political persuasions, with work by Steve Brodner, Barry Blitt, Philip Burke, Stephen Kroninger, Luba Lukova, Hanoch Piven, and Tim O'Brien.
The Society of Illustrators, 128 East 63^rd Street, NYC. 212-838-2560

Campaigning for President: New York and the American Election. Through November 4^th.
Since the first presidential inauguration, which was held in New York in 1789, the city has played a pivotal role in national politics. This exhibition highlights New York City and its candidates, powerbrokers and voters through rarely seen, provocative, and often humorous campaign memorabilia. Presented in collaboration with the Museum of Democracy. Please check the website for upcoming public programs, including an evening with Ted Sorenson, and one about Hip-Hop's role in the current presidential election.
Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Avene at 104^th Street, NYC. 212.534.1672.

Party Headquarters: Voting is Just the Beginning. Opening reception, September 25, 6 - 8 pm; on view through November 4.
A political exhibition, voter registration drive, and program of political satire events, all spotlighting artists' opinions about political media, the art of persuasion, voting attitudes and the consequences of democracy. Work in painting, video, installation, performance, and drawings by contemporary artists, the exhibition also includes a historical presentation of political art.
Pratt Manhattan Gallery, 144 West 14^th Street, 2^nd floor, NYC. 718-636-3554.

Art from Anxious Times. October 1 - 27.
The anxiety and cynicism provoked by war, social upheaval and natural disasters are the inspiration for art across a broad spectrum of practices, from assemblage and sculpture to painting, photography, and illustration. Some of the featured artists and illustrators are Edward Burtynsky, Adam Straus, Joan Fontcuberta, Peter Kuper and Mark Burckhardt.
Phyllis Harriman Gallery at The Art Students League, 215 West 57^th Street, NYC. 212-247-4510, ext 106.

Ours: Democracy in the Age of Branding. October 15 - February 1, 2009.
Curated by Carin Kuomi of the Vera List Center for Art and Politics, this timely exhibition investigates the potency of democracy as a global brand. Featuring an international roster of emerging and established contemporary artists including Yeal Bartana, Paul Chan, Aleksandra Domanovic, Liam Gillick, and Judi Werthein, the program also includes a series of performances and related workshops.
The Sheila C. Johnson Design Center at Parsons The New School for Design, 66 Fifth Avenue, NYC.

Upcoming public programs on politics, policy and art at Parsons The New School.
Wednesday, November 5, 7 pm: Media and Technology Policy-Making: By The Time You Read This It Will Be Obsolete
Wednesday, November 12, 7 pm: Confounding Expectations/Photography in Context: Framing the Presidency.
Saturday, November 15, 1 pm: Picturing Politics
Friday, November 21, 6:30 pm: Who Knows One! Profiling the Citizen/Client
Please check website for information

And by the way, the errant 800-pound moose that caused a 9-car pile-up leading to its demise on I-684 in Westchester County last night, was, I believe, a suicidal creature on its way to the United Nations to meet Alaska's gov.