An activist friend of mine from Michigan wrote to me this morning and asked my opinion about the Democratic Party candidates for President. I have indeed formed something resembling an opinion about this melodramatic media circus we are calling Election '08, but to me, my "opinion" feels more like fear bordering on panic.

I'm supporting the Kucinich campaign not because I think he will win - whatever that means - but because I appreciate his willingness to be the conscience of this country. With the exception of Edwards, I don't think Richardson or the rest of the trailing pack has any more of a chance than he does. I met Biden and asked him the DoP question, and he agreed that we need one, so I thought I might support his campaign since I think Dennis would have more credibility as Secretary of Peace. Besides, Biden looks like a President, and unfortunately that still means something in this country.

As for Hillary, she may have human female gonads, but she has the heart of a hawk and the spine of a snake and she scares the hell out of me. So does Obama; he may have the pedigree of a Person of Color, but if he thinks the solution to the crime problem is to build more jails and pass harsher laws, then he's either a traitor to his own or blind to the overt and covert racial profiling in our so-called justice system. Unfortunately, I fear that we might end up with a Clinton-Obama or Obama-Clinton ticket, though.

Again unfortunately, I have to agree with my father: Either of the two front-runners would be political suicide for the Democrats; if they want to win, they will draft Gore. He won before when he was much less charismatic and influential than he is now. But for purely humanitarian reasons, I don't believe the White House should be filled by a draftee, and parallel to my gut feeling about Dennis, I would rather see Gore as Secretary of the EPA.

In the best of all possible melodramatic media circus worlds, Gore will decide to run at the last minute and sweep the primaries and get the Democratic nomination and invite Dennis to run as Vice-President. Or he'll wait even longer than that - maybe after all the "jumping up and down" (i.e. primaries and conventions) is over - and run as an Independent; Dennis will, in the best possible melodramatic media circus fashion, renounce the Democratic Party that has snubbed him at every turn and run with Gore; and we'll elect our first-ever Independent to the Presidency.

This fairy tale is brought to you by PANinA, to be launched by the end of this weekend.