Setting up false dichotomies for the sake of the argument is kind of pointless though, isn't Maryanne?

People can and should vote for the candidate they feel best represents their interests and the interests of the nation.

Very sound, cogent arguments have been made by many, that reducing elections to the equivalent of placing bets on the horse you want to see win the horse race, not only do not serve the best interests of our democratic nation, but in fact, work against them.

This election is about much more than the horse race between Kerry and Bush. So very much more.

For instance, if we could actually get Nader and Cobb into the debates, the policy differences between the nation's liberals and progressives, which are very important and meaningful differences in relation to this year's election in particular, could actually be debated on the national stage. Unfortunately, the liberals don't want that debate to take place, because they fear the voters might just decide for themselves that the Kerry supporters were crying wolf when they raised the alarm about the house being on fire as a smokescreen to prevent voters from examining their policy positions vis a vis the more progressive candidates.

At the very least, we should be allowed to watch televised national debates of the third party candidates with one another.