Primary Colors

From Five on Friday.

1. When is the presidential primary in your area?
Super Tuesday, February 5, 2008.

2. Do you plan to participate? Have you participated in the past?
Yes and yes. And, yes, I'll admit it right here: I voted Dubya last time around.

3. Do you identify with a single party or do you consider yourself independent? Has that changed over the years?
It has changed. I came to my senses awhile back and became Republican. Seriously, I prefer the GOP because of its traditional stands concerning abortion, cloning, taxes, government size, immigration and so on. Sadly, the Grand Old Party is in a state of flux just now and seems to be fragmented into three parts none of which fully cover the ideals of the Republican Platform; even more sadly, President Bush hasn't helped lead our party very well in staying true to our platform.

4. In your opinion, what are the major issues this year's presidential candidates must address? Which is most important to your vote?
The normal social issues come first. Then, I'm interested in things like immigration reform (I favor improving and expediting legal immigration but absolutely oppose amnesty for illegal immigrants — I don't see why legal immigrants shouldn't be given priority over those who are already breaking our laws), Iran policy (please don't attack it), civil liberties in light of the PATRIOT Act, net neutrality, and a whole bunch of others. Huckabee pleases me on many of these, but not so much on some of the others. A true descendant of Reagan could cover them all.

All the same, vote Huckabee!

5. How do you get your information about candidates at this time of year? What media and messaging impacts your opinion of the candidates the most?

Matt Drudge keeps me apprised of things much of the time. I also keep up on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, its political news and its (often disagreeable) op-eds on the politicians. CNN is the official channel of choice on election night, with its careful calling of elections and relatively even keeled commentary. What media impacts me most? Print or electronic text — cold hard facts and such.