BELIEVING BUSH: I thought Bush's recent speech at the UN beat hell out of Kerry's parallel address at NYU. I have a sense that Bush and team grasp the unique nature of the war against fundamentalist terror, while Kerry continues to think that his winning personality will somehow reverse time and win the waffling French and Germans back to our side. Look, many of you who are posting COMMENTS to this site -- Isaac, Bart, Kevin -- are among the smartest and kindest folks I know. I have tremendous respect for you. I also respect John Kerry, his service to our country, and the tremendous sacrifice he's making as he runs for President. But I guess deep down I prefer a leader who's something of a cowboy, who knows his own heart and convictions and isn't afraid to follow them. I don't love Bush. I don't hate Kerry. But I much prefer the guy who's walking arm in arm with Allawi, a man who risks his life with every breath he draws, to the guy who's calling him a liar in the middle of a conflagration. What kind of relationship will Kerry have with Allawi if he wins? I can't help but feel like Kerry is clutching at straws instead of advancing an agenda born of deep conviction.

My vote likely will be to stay the course, to be resolute, to celebrate our soldiers and our leaders as right-minded heroes, and to hope that the good that's happening in Afghanistan (reported in the NYT, no less!) will eventually be replicated in Iraq.

And Kevin, for what it's worth, I read all kinds of sites and magazines. For goshshakes, I was a longtime Mother Jones and Utne Reader and Harper's subscriber, an NPR donor, a Dukakis voter, a Howard Zinn book buyer, a Noam Chomsky audio-book reader. I seen plenty of Left in my day, and I still subscribe to the PETA newsletter and give money to HRC. I ain't no Swaggart. But much of what's Right makes more sense to me than it used to, and you probably have Andrew Sullivan to thank or blame for that. (He's my role model for flamboyantly liberal conservatism. Or is that libertarianism? Who cares.)

That said, even he's not voting for Bush this time around. Oy vey. I have no answers, only questions. But when it comes time to vote I'll take my guess just as you'll take yours. I don't believe there's a right answer. So long as that vote is cast out of love and hopefulness, then it's fine with me.