GUEST, you and I both know that the word "liberal" has been demonized by the right, and that those who call themselves "progressive leftists" would have called themselves "liberals" twenty years ago. I don't know what you mean by "(spit) liberal" but I assume you have either internalized some kind of self-hatred or are accusing me of trying to "pin a label" on you. Either way, your claim to be progressive to me means liberal. Leftist, of course, also means liberal. And independent merely means you are not in a party. So you're what used to be called a small-l liberal. Deal with it.

I repeat, then, my second possibility:

GUEST is a Green, Nader supporter, or other liberal winger, enraged by his own impotence to harm the party that is philosophically further from him, and thus bent on harming the party closer to him instead.

In this particular election, you have two choices: Bush or Kerry. You can either choose to deal with that reality or not. If you do not, don't complain about Bush's administration during the next four years.

I sympathize with your disillusionment with the parties. Go, be active, campaign in state and local races, get progressives into the system who can run for national office later.

But don't think you can get someone more "progressive" or "leftist" than Kerry into the white house, because it ain't gonna happen in 2004, 2008 or even probably 2012.