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Another random question, requesting your input:

Lets use the example of the recent presidential election:

Should you vote for:

A) the guy that represents you the most

or

B) the guy that represents you the most, AND that has a chance of winning

??????

I say this because in this last election, there were some MUCH smaller campaigns going on for candidates who represented my views even more than Bush did.

Now, should I have voted for them, in the true spirit of democracy? Or should I have voted for Bush, in that he was the only one (that represented my views) who had a chance?

Quite paradoxical: The only way one would have a chance at winning is if someone gives them an unrealistic chance early on...

Your thoughts?

Protest votes can be effective I think. If they cause a party to lose then next time the major party will be more apt to listen to their concerns.

A, unless there is an incumbent who needs to be removed, then B just to get him out.

Best candidate for the job, for me. Which is not necessarily the person who would be the most representative of me. I have no problem "throwing my vote away", as many people suggest I have done.

Also, in my own short existence, it has been my experience that at every election supporters of both of the big two parties always say that "this is the most important election ever", "we just can't afford to let the other guy win", "maybe, I'll vote third party next time, but this time candidate XXX needs every vote he can get", etc...

I always vote Republican so that's ALWAYS a "B" for me!

Democrats NEVER get to vote for the person that have a chance of getting elected.

Hmmmmm. Difficult question, and I suppose it depends on the circumstances.

If there were a person who I regarded as THE perfect candidate, yet who was unheardof and had no chance of winning, would I vote for him? Tough question. It would depend on how much I disagreed with the likely-to-win parties and candidates.

Generally, though, I would go for the most-likely-to-win candidate with whom I had the most agreement.

Good point. It's probably best to go with what you believe in, in the long run.

It's good to see that my puzzling political point of view doesn't sit in the room by itself...

...perhaps if Giuliani runs in '08 it'll give me inspiration to vote for an unknown candidate, since Rudy (although a great movie) just doesn't cut it with his social views.