The Ohio Primary

Today I went to the ballot intending to write Mike Gravel in as my choice for democratic candidate for president. I was pretty sure that he wouldn't be on the ballot, and I was right. The depressing part was: no write-ins were allowed.

So, after months of blab on my part, I cast my vote for Barack Obama.

Let it be known, however, that I am proud of Senator Gravel for the campaign he has run, a campaign based on honesty and outrage over a war that should never have been. Mike Gravel is pro gay rights, pro environmental reform, and pro health care reform. He does not take money from special interests. He is for reaching out to our international neighbors instead of defying them. When he says he wants to end the war, he means right now.

But what truly strikes me about his candidacy is that, whether or not I agree with the former senator, he makes his stances clear. When Mike Gravel speaks, I hear no equivocation, no pandering, and no debasing himself to snatch a few more votes. I admire that, particularly in an age when much of what comes from the mouth of a politician is a gaseous cloud of obfuscation.

I know and have known that Mike never had a chance. I still think it's a shame that, when he, Hillary Clinton and Obama are the only remaining democratic candidates, he is excluded from all debates.

Still, I know that his candidacy, ultimately, is his attempt to garner recognition for his National Initiative for Democracy. Remember, it is never too late to vote for the piece of legislation that will insert the American citizen directly into the lawmaking process.

Go Gravel Go!

nwb

PS: My vote was negated by my treacherous wife, Alex, who penciled in the little oval denoting "Hillary."