The November election is less than two months away and campaigns at all levels are ramping up for a final push. Here are the three national candidates I am supporting and for whom I will cast my vote in November.

    <p><a href="http://www.russfeingold.org/" title="Russ Feingold For U.S. Senate 2004">Russ Feingold</a> | My favorite contemporary national politician, with the possible exception of <a href="http://www.obamablog.com/" title="Barack Obama">Barack Obama</a> in Illinois, Feingold is running for reelection against Republican Tim Michels, Independent Eugene A. Hem, and Libertarian Arif Khan.  His <a href="http://www.russfeingold.org/news/goitalone.php" title="A Go-It-Alone Democrat">vote</a> against the <a href="http://www.aclu.org/SafeandFree/SafeandFree.cfm?ID=12126&amp;c=207" title="USA PATRIOT Act">USA PATRIOT Act</a> was heroic to those of us who have railed against it, and his <a href="http://www.russfeingold.org/health_care_proposal.php" title="Feingold Proposal To Ensure Coverage And Bill To Force Action">proposal for a national healthcare system</a> is one that I fully support.</p>
    <p><a href="http://www.bryankennedyforcongress.com/" title="Bryan Kennedy For Congress">Bryan Kennedy</a> | Campaigning against Incumbent Republican Representative Jim Sensenbrenner and Libertarian Tim Peterson, Kennedy has some interesting positions.  For example, he is in favor of a ban on prescription drug advertisements, <a href="http://www.bryankennedyforcongress.com/platform/plat_health.mgi">arguing</a> that they "encourage unnecessary use of healthcare and they drive up the costs on everything from office visits, to insurance co-pays to prescription drugs," not to mention "send a detrimental message to our children."  He has a solid environmental platform, however, and despite a pronounced pro-military stance and a questionable commitment to "local" solutions, I find him a much more agreeable candidate than Sensenbrenner on the great majority of issues important to me.</p>
    <p><a href="http://www.johnkerry.com/" title="John Kerry For President">John Kerry</a> | He's not particularly inspirational, he's handled his campaign poorly, and he is no more a "regular Joe" than President Bush himself.  Still, he <i>isn't</i> Bush and he does have a vision for a better America, annoyingly vague as that phrase may be.  His health care plan is intriguing in its simplicity, his position on international relations is much closer to mine than is the President's, and he generally recognizes the nuances in domestic and foreign issues that Bush does not.  How's that for a vague endorsement?  I supported <a href="http://www.democracyforamerica.com/" title="Democracy for America">Howard Dean</a> and later, John Edwards, but while Kerry is nowhere near my first choice for President, Bush is darned near my last.</p>
    <p>These choices are probably not surprising, but I did want to share them publicly.  Whatever your position, I do encourage you to research the candidates and cast your ballot on November 2nd.  And if you want to find out more about progressive candidates and their platforms, check out the above links as well as <a href="http://www.democracyforwisconsin.com/" title="Democracy For Wisconsin">Democracy For Wisconsin</a>, <a href="http://www.moveon.org/" title="MoveOn.org">MoveOn.org</a>, and <a href="http://www.dailykos.com/" title="The Daily Kos">The Daily Kos</a>.</p>