It is with great reluctance that I've decided to vote for George W. Bush.

Even though I know my individual vote doesn't matter, I usually try to take voting seriously and vote for the person who is closest to my own views. (Please don't construe this as another "why you should vote" message. Read more here.)

I am proud to have voted for the Libertarian Party candidate in every election since 1988 (the first presidential election in which I was eligible to vote). Although I'm a registered Republican, my views are libertarian. So I've always voted for the LP whenever possible. This year this is not an option. The LP candidate Michael Badnarik is a complete nutjob. For more on why read here and here. Although I have no illusions about the prospects for electoral success of the LP, I once had a hope that they could act as a respected third party of principle. Instead the LP is the political party equivalent of a Star Trek convention.

So this year the choice is between Kerry and W. W has been a huge, massive disappointment. But in every relevant respect John Kerry has promised to be worse.

Let me take stock of the candidates on this issues.

Fiscal Issues (Budget Deficit/Taxes). I think government is too large. Bush has made it larger and Kerry has criticized him for not making it even larger! I don't really care much about the deficit since the real cost of government is largely (though not entirely) independent of the method of finance. Bush is financing his spending binge with deficits and Kerry promises to finance his (even larger) promised spending binge with higher taxes. Advantage: Bush.

Foreign Policy. Screw the UN and the frogs. Seriously, I've come to conclude that we must meet the threat of Arab fundamentalism with strength and preferably on their turf not ours. The rhetoric of the left today is oh so reminiscent of the left during the Cold War. They were wrong then and they are wrong now. Appeasement doesn't make the enemy go away. It emboldens them. Reagan knew that we could defeat the Soviets only from a position of strength and Bush knows that we can defeat the threat of Muslim fundamentalism only from a position of strength. While there is a legitimate debate about the prudence of the Iraq invasion as a tactic, I am fully supportive of the overall strategy to project American strength abroad as needed. Advantage: Bush.

War on Drugs. I think all drugs should be legal. Neither Bush nor Kerry will change the status quo and reduce this awful War on Drugs. Advantage: none.

Abortion. I think abortion is murder. Advantage: Bush.

Civil Liberties. The Patriot Act is not as big a threat (at the margin) as most people think. Much of the Patriot Act was already law and is supported by both parties/candidates. I'm not happy with this, but I don't think Kerry will be any better than Bush. Advantage: none.

Gay Marriage. I wish the government was out of the marriage business. I think people should be allowed to marry their goats if they want. Advantage: Kerry.

Foreign Trade/Labor Policy: If Kerry wins, he'll be in debt to the unions. Expect more protectionism than even Bush has given us. Advantage: Bush.

Environment: Environmental zealots are costing us millions. Let's drill in Alaska! Bush has added some sense of sanity to our insance environmental laws. Advantage: Bush.

Social Security: Bush favors some move away from government run retirement. Amazingly Kerry supports the status quo. Advantage: Bush.

Health Care: Bush will slow the long march toward socialized medicine (compared with Kerry). Advantage: Bush.