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"You are making perfect sense. Voting for McCain in the general election had nothing to do with being a cheerleader for McCain or the GOP. One’s vote often must change with the circumstances. It’s a political act, not a candle-lighting event."

Thank you. I do sympathize with those who point to the Carter years and say a Reagan could follow again, ergo maybe it's best to give O his term in office. Maybe, but that presumes a lot. It's not just that O's definitely a committed Marxist and quite possibly a cloaked Islamist, but that he's also got this messianic thing going on, is worshiped by the media, and is immunized against all criticism because of his skin color. That has never been encountered here in the U.S. before, and it's perilous.

All in all, having thought about it quite a lot over the past year, I still think: In the primary, vote for the best guy; in the general, vote against the worst. For me, that meant a primary vote for someone (anyone!) other than McCain, but if the general election comes and it's a tight race between a McCain and an Obama, I must hold my nose and do what I can to keep the Obama from being elected.

An exception might be if you live in a solid-blue state like Kalifornistan or Massachusetts, where it truly won't matter who you vote for because the leftist is gonna win, period. Then, your vote's going to waste no matter what, so it might as well go towards the superior third-party candidate.

One problem with those who won't vote at all for a McCain under any circumstances is that they might boycott the election altogether, thus depriving candidates for seemingly less important offices of the votes they need to win. It's very certain that several tight Congressional races went (D) because GOP voters stayed home out of distaste for McCain. And that's a pity-- just for example, had they not done so, PelosiCare would not have passed.

Voting has consequences. So does not-voting. And so, in the general election, does a protest vote for a doomed third-party candidate. Just ask Ross Perot-- his spiteful campaign against GHWB (another nose-holder, IMHO) ultimately gave us Bill Clinton, whose legacy (Rahm Emanuel, Eric Holder...) continues today.