Apparently, I am a sheep because I intend to vote for a mainstream politician. In fact, I intend to vote for a mainstream politician described by Mr. Sullivan in his Oct. 6 letter as a buffoon.

That’s right, George W. Bush is where this sheep’s vote is going. Sullivan casts the current campaign as a choice between two mainstream evils. He also promotes the abandonment of our time-honored two-party system.

I’m voting for Bush not because he is the lesser of two evils, but because he is a normal guy with great leadership ability. Yes it’s true, there are reasons to vote for Bush. They even outnumber the reasons not to vote for the self-righteous prevaricator opposing him.

While Bush may not be the most eloquent individual, he has an undeniable resume. Where Gore has spent his last 24 years speaking eloquently and doing nothing but playing party politics in Washington, Bush has seen results as a leader. Bush has garnered the support of Republicans and Democrats alike in Texas. He has earned respect being straightforward and honest and sitting down and hashing out solutions to problems without regard for party lines.

Bush’s strength comes from the people who support him. With him, he brings decades of knowledge through people such as Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell. Bush understands there is more to leadership than facts, figures, fibs and finger pointing.

He knows what it means to lead – he’s done it. He knows how to accomplish something. This differs greatly from a vice president who knows how to SAY he has accomplished something.

As to the attack on a two-party government, a “load of crap” as Sullivan described it; a two-party system is not a bad thing! Our system has made us the most powerful nation in the world. While multi-party countries such as Italy struggle to stay afloat in the modern world, we lead! Italy averages at least one overturned government a year. In such a dynamic place, nothing gets done.

I do not discourage parties outside the GOP and DFL. I think the parties are beautiful examples of the freedom and stability our current system has given us. But while others are vital, they should not and will not capture the presidency. Nader, the strongest of the alternative candidates, has watched as his support has eroded from its high in June.

So what’s the answer? A candidate supported by a mainstream party who has shown he can work across party lines to accomplish good things. We have an opportunity to move forward rather than wallow in the slop of the Clinton-Gore era.

We have an opportunity to choose a leader rather than another politically-polished storyteller. George W. Bush is a candidate for Republicans, he is a candidate for Democrats, but most of all he is a candidate for independent-minded people who want to see progress.

If this makes me a sheep, “BAAAA.”

Scott T Sevcik

Junior

Aerospace Engineering