[Eagle Eye]

You are absolutely right.

I went to a Dole/Kemp rally. After parking a mile away, standing in line, enduring security, waiting and waiting at the rally, Kemp came out and tuly dissappointed me. He pretty much apologized for the Conservatives and sucked up to the Democrats.

But, like a good, mind-numbed robot, I held my nose and voted for Dole.

Somewhere over the next few years I realized that I would never simply hold my nose and vote for either a party or an individual out of expected loyalty, and I'd not cast a vote for any Republican as a vote against a Democrat. If I can't vote FOR the person or party, I'll vote for someone else or not at all.

[MozarkDawg]

Funny, but I recall being upset when Reagan had to take Bush over Kemp in 80, that deal about how the GOP was so sure we couldn't get Texas without him. I thought, at the time, that Kemp would have been a perfect VP, both he and Reagan had the same economics-philosophy, didn't like Bush calling it "voodoo" add to the fact that Kemp being a former NFL great seemed a good fit with Reagan's Hollywood past.

In later years, I began to wonder ... did Kemp change, or was he always this squishy-in-the-middle guy? I, like you, was severely disappointed in his 96 performance. I question now whether I really should have been, maybe I ought to have known better? Just my ponderings, FWIW.