If you want to enter politics with a basic understanding, the best thing to do is to understand the two party systems, what things like "Free Market" mean and why they would be good (or, in my personal belief, why they would be bad), and so on.
Politics has become a game of twisting definitions in an attempt to sway people from one end to another, so if you don't learn what's what, you're going to get swamped with a whole bunch of different bits and pieces of info that will all conflict each other.
Never get swayed into one party or another; you'll just get a handful of twisted definitions as mentioned before, never take an argument fully as fact unless you've researched certain bits of it, but always be willing to take what's stated into consideration, always be open minded, but most of all
Don't join into the game that's going on where people are turning Politics into a game of instigation and "winning" or "losing"; people are taking a direction of not discussing issues properly like Politics should be and are instead even going so far as to name calling and generalizing instead of.... actually discussing issues and topics at hand.

I know this is far off from your question, but simply asking "Whose better, X or Y?" generally isn't going to make you better informed than if you had just ignored the topic entirely.

that was just a long paragraph of meaningless drivel that didn't even attempt to answer the question lemonfrosting posted. stop trying to listen to yourself talk and just give a answer

I'm saying you can't just jump into politics with "Whose better, X or Y"

well you had the opportunity to give him some insight but instead of giving anything concrete he could learn from you just went on and on about I think corruption or something idk and idc. someone asks you a question give them a fucking direct answer next time

Romney because of the knowledge and experience he has received. Not only that, he is a business man who knows what work really is despite of all the Romney hate bullshit on this site. He could have gone to work with his father as a CEO of a company right out of college. But he didnt, he went on his own route on his own. Romney knows what work is. He got two majors at Harvard SIMULTANEOUSLY. Hell he even saved the fucking Olympics once. The only people who hate Romney are lazy fucks who believe in distributive wealth. Excuse my language. Im probly gunna be bashed for saying this because this site is also very left sided.

Your opinion of Romney is valid, but your opinion if his opponents is not.
It's fine that you lean right, and if you have good reasoning behind your opinions I respect that.
But to say that all of Romney's opponents are lazy or socialist is simply dishonest, and if you actually believe that you are a fool.

why does everyone ignore the 3rd parties :/

Bc Ron Paul was the best but theres no way hell win

There's no way in hell because of that attitude.

:[ Ron Paul wasn't third party, he was Republican.