And they're off!

That's Martin O'Malley.  He's the former Governor of Maryland and some think he may soon declare he's running for the Democratic Party's presidential election.

Yes, it's that time of year where the press bores us all with horse racing and tries to pretend that they're covering actual issues.

Mike and Ann are already interested in O'Malley's campaign and may end up supporting his run (if he declares).

Others may back other candidates.

If you check our 2007 archives, when there were contested primaries (Democratic, Republican and, yes, the Green Party), you will see that we were not a monolithic voice.

We also had readers who supported John McCain's run.

That's fine with us.

If someone wins your support, if they earn your vote, you should support them.

We do not, however, believe that you vote for the lesser of two evils (or the greater of two evils).

You vote for who you believe in.

And if no wins your vote?

Then we support your right not to vote.

That is your right.

Barack stuck his smelly feet in his mouth last month with his ridiculous suggestion of "mandatory voting."

We are the United States.

We are not the USSR.

A right to vote also means a right not to vote.

If that's too confusing for some fascists, you have the right to worship in the US but you are not required to worship any religion.

By the same token, you have a right to vote but you are not required to vote.

We will share our opinions throughout the horse race -- especially in roundtables.

We will be hitting very hard any candidate -- such as Hillary Clinton -- who is a War Hawk.

That's where we stand.


If you ever feel that we have gotten your candidate wrong, feel free to e-mail us.  In fact, use two addresses on your e-mail: thethirdestatesundayreview@yahoo.com and common_ills@yahoo.com to ensure that we see it quickly.

In that e-mail, if there's something you want noted, say so and we'll include your quote.  Also state how you want to be billed.  ("A reader" is acceptable if that's all you want.)

We do not have to agree on who to vote for -- even those of us working on this edition do not have to agree -- but if you've got a candidate you believe in, we're happy for you and we're happy to note it.