I, of course, read Common Sense once upon a time in high school, but can't remember much about it other than the mystique that surrounds Paine's most famous work. I'm thinking about starting a new blog called "Education of a Political Journalist" in which I read and explore American political writings and thought starting with the Enlightenment and working my way to the present day and try to put some current political discussions into context. There's a lot of talk about the Constitution and the Founders these days, but I think too many people apply their own modern filters to their words, which would have had a very different meaning and context at the time.
But like all ambitious projects, who knows if it will ever see the light of day. Maybe I'll go ahead and create a wordpress account just in case.