If you are interested in participating in the primaries, you should probably get http://elections.utah.gov/VoterRegistrationForm.pdf and send it in to your county clerk elections official found at http://elections.utah.gov/countyclerks.html

I will now use the remainder of this post as a shameless plug. If you are unsure of who to vote for, check out http://www.ronpaul2008.com/ and vote for him if you agree with what he stands for. He's the only candidate with INTEGRITY that I know of running for president.

I now turn the time over to popthestack's signature.

PS - Sorry if I didn't get your fav candidate labeled. I included as many options as were allowed me.

Yeah dude, WTF?

Wow. I swore I had it on there. In fact I know I did. Weird.

Anyway, I had to take off Fred Thompson to get Ron Paul on there. If anybody minds, ... too bad.

Ron Paul also struck me as exactly what I'm looking for. Can't honestly say I follow politics enough to know whether Romney is sleazy or not. Here's my friend's take on it, though:

Ron:

As newly elected senator for the newly formed state of Utah, Orson Pratt found staunch resistance from other members of Congress. Many blatantly objected to his presence in the legislative body, as he belonged to a religious group with a history in polygamy. Pratt himself had only one wife, but that did not matter to them.

It seemed that there would be some length of bellyaching before the session could get going. But then, a certain enlightened Southern senator, knowing how many of these same senators kept extra-marital mistresses, stood up and said, "I'd rather be sitting here with a polygamist who doesn't polyg than with a bunch of monogamists who don't monog." The session got moving after that.

I'm really sick of hearing, "Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City..." "Hillary Clinton, wife of former President Bill Clinton..." "Mitt Romney, Mormon..."

Why is that his defining characteristic?

Lately, polls have shown that Americans are less willing to vote for a Mormon than for a woman, a homosexual, or someone from any particular ethnic background.

It's ridiculous. Aren't we past this yet, people?

It's much more understandable to me for crazy atheist liberals to hate his Mormon-ness than for conservatives to do so.

His religion shouldn't be that much of an issue, people.

And, no, I'm not supporting him simply because he's a Mormon. I'm supporting him because he's a GOOD Mormon and a smart, positive, enthusiastic leader.

If he wore the Christian badge as nothing more than one of the unwritten requirements for seeking the Presidency (as with Giuliani and Clinton), then I wouldn't like him. But he doesn't do so; though he doesn't shove his religion in people's faces, he still lives it.

If he was simply a delusional demagogue like Edwards or Paul, I would be embarrassed about the fact that he is Mormon. But he has shown himself to be quite pragmatic and diplomatic.

I'm a Romney man because:

1) Hands down, he is the most qualified candidate in regards to running a country. He won't just get things done; he will get things UNdone. He'll cut the fat and streamline the federal government just as he did with Massachusetts. On top of that, he's the best one to keep America from falling behind Asia. He clings to time-proven conservative economic stances without being ridiculous. Unlike Ron Paul, he's not dumb enough to think we can possibly go back to the gold standard (ha!) or somehow survive by cutting ourselves off from the world.

2) He has his ideals and lives by them, but he is still capable of listening to reason.

3) He and Giuliani have the most logical approach to the immigration problem: You don't rely completely on an uncrossable wall, mass deportation, and a huge police force. Instead, you make it impossible for American companies to hire illegals.

4) In regards to terrorism, again, he is at once idealistic and pragmatic. Ron Paul likes to say that the Bush administration is at fault for our problems in Iraq, and not America at large. Paul wants to pull out immediately. Romney knows that there's a difference between fault and responsibility. Regardless of how or why we're there, it is now our responsibility to see this through. And, regardless of the garbage Hillary has been spouting, we ARE winning in Iraq.

5) Let's face it, folks: It's important for a president to be able to communicate well. (Think of how the media has treated all of Bush's inabilities there during the past several years. Yeah.) He's the most charismatic candidate that the Republicans have. Obama might be comparable, but then he has the usual dumb Democratic economic theories, and he wants to invade Pakistan.

6) He has the most rational approach toward socialized healthcare: Leave it to the states. We'll find what works best through experimentation.

7) He's just a good, moral guy. And, though Jimmy Carter has shown us that there is more to be required than just that, Bill Clinton has proven that it's still pretty important. (I'm not even talking about adultery. I'm talking about treason.)

Buzz:

Reasons why I'm not a Romney man:

1) His lack of integrity.

Just as with ALL of the past presidents that I can remember (only really back to Bush Sr.) they all lacked integrity.

Of all the candidates, how many can you watch on the debate and HONESTLY say to yourself, "If we elect this person, he/she will honestly strive to fulfill all the promises he/she is making me right now." My answer is one. Ron Paul. And if you want to look it up, check out the history/voting record of ALL of the other candidates. Who's voting record is consistent with his/her campaign platform? Just one.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am tired of lip service. I am sick and tired of electing somebody because I agree with their campaign platform only to have that person do the exact opposite once elected. And most of all, I'm tired of having to choose between two bought-and-paid-for candidates (as in, one owes favors to these companies and the other owes favors to these other companies)

And that is why I will vote for Ron Paul in the primaries, and hopefully, in the 2008 presidential elections.

Amen.

Any thoughts on Mitt's "so-I'm-a-Mormon" speech?