I've been following the primary election results all afternoon on TV and, I have to say: It's a very exciting time... but (yes, I had to throw a "but" in there)... well, I'm on the fence, and the posts are starting to hurt my backside. Insert all the puns you like in there; I intentionally left it open for just that reason.

At any rate, I decided to put fingers on keyboard and let all y'all aboard my train of thought. I've found you to be intelligent and reasonable folks, so maybe you can offer me some Pearls of Wisdom that I might not ordinarily have stumbled upon. Here's the scoops, troops:

I'm a registered Libertarian. I'll pause for a moment while you gather yourselves and recover from your shock. You back with me? OK. I will be the first to state that I do not completely agree with my stated party. There are issues on which we are 180 degrees apart (e.g., Immigration), but I seem to agree with them more often than the other parties, so there it is. I've often been tempted to write up my own platform, and even started penning one, but it's a lengthy process requiring much cogitation and research and I just haven't had the time.

To bring the train back off of the siding it had drifted onto and return it to the main line... I ran several candidate calculators like the Vote Match one on SpeakOut.org (accessed here through Fox, because they were kind enough to provide the HTML code so I didn't have to write it myself). The first time I ran the calculator was about 6 weeks ago and I matched up (issues-wise, anyway) with 1) Chris Dodd; 2) John Edwards; 3) Cynthia somebody (she was the freak who assaulted a security guard at the Capitol Building when she showed up without her security badge and he did his job, refusing to let her in); and 4) Hillary Clinton (much to my surprise). In case you're interested, Obama was 8th, Richardson 9th, Huckabee 13th, Giuliani 14th, McCain 15th, and Romney trailed the pack at 18th. Republican, I'm not (even though the first president I actually voted for was Bush the Elder, and I still think Reagan was the last decent president this country has had).

Obviously, Dodd has dropped out, as has Edwards, and I wouldn't vote for Cynthia McKinney if you put a gun to my head (not that she'd allow that anyway, given her stand on the 2nd Amendment). That leaves me with either Clinton or voting the party line. Now, I don't much trust Hillary. It's just an instinct, but I've learned to trust them. I get the feeling that she says what she says not because she really believes it, but because it's what she thinks I want to hear. She's saying it to get elected, not to actually follow through. Still, I know she's ruthless and I don't think that's all that bad a thing in a president. Besides, I know what I'm getting with her. I can usually tell when she's blowing smoke, so it doesn't matter so much if she lies to me, because I know she's lying. I get the same feeling from Obama, but it's much more subtle, much more difficult to tell when he's blowing the same smoke. He reminds me altogether too much of Slick Willie. Ironic that I'd be comparing Hillary's opponent to Hillary's husband, isn't it?

The only person in politics who would get my vote without reservation, without even looking to see who else was on the ticket, is Colin Powell. I may not always agree with him, but I believe in his integrity. He may not have been a Senator/Congressman, or a Governor, or any other political office (though he was Secretary of State), but his history shows, when he's put into an office he doesn't have much experience in, he surrounds himself with bright, capable people, he listens to what they have to say, then he makes up his own mind. I honestly believe he would make an outstanding U.S. President.

Unfortunately, I think he's a Republican. Too bad. If Hillary chose him as her running mate, I'd give her the nod. If she teamed up with Edwards, I'd seriously consider that, too. That won't happen, either. That leaves me hanging another Libertarian chad... unless all y'all have some good points to make and you make them convincingly. Give me your insight, please.

To quote another Keanu Reeves movie: Hit me.
The Floor Is Open.