Guest,
Too bad you didn't respond to the part of Thomas the Rhymer's post that speaks directly to the subject of the thread, the part where he said:
"We are voting for the man that is so popular, that mainstream Americans (the vast majority of voters) will be more or less content with him. ... This is the cumbersome voice of the people... speaking very clearly."

If I may add to this: As much as I would like to see Nader or Kucinich elected, achieving that would mean that more than half of the country would feel completely unrepresented in the White House. I am probably farther left than either Nader or Kucinich, and I would revel in having either of them for a president. But it would be undemocratic, since a vast majority of the populace is somewhere to the right of me, and of Nader. In order to represent the country in the best way possible, we should elect a centrist president. Kerry is much closer to that than Bush or Nader.

I felt that you were being somewhat condescending when you said:
"I recommend that people stop voting for the lesser of two evils, for starters. I recommend that people start contributing to the public debate and saying these things in places where politicians hear them.

"Raise and debate these issues in public and in private. Public demonstrations. On cable access channels. Talk radio. Precinct caucuses. City council meetings. Testifying before state legislatures. Writing letters to the editors.   And ESPECIALLY talking to friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, people you stand in line with at the grocery store.

"START TALKING ABOUT THE PROBLEMS AND THE SOLUTIONS."

I do most of those things already. I can't really start talking about the problems, since I never stopped talking about them. There seems to be an implication in your post that people who aren't with you don't really care about the issues and aren't doing anythng about them. If I'm reading something into your words that isn't there, I apologize. But with my apology comes a request that you take more care to be more clear about who you are talking to and why you are saying what you're saying. You sound like you know the answer and everyone else is blind. If you don't really feel that way, you should pay more attention to the tone of your words.

And I'm not voting for the lesser of two evils -- I am voting against a really big, dangerous, deadly evil. Returning the country to the center seems like a prudent course to me, even though I am way far left.

John Peekstok