We base all our experiments on the capacity of mankind for self-government.

So I’m left with the two major parties as options. I start with the Republican, George Allen. I start with him because he is my known factor. Specifically, he is an incumbent, which means he has probably done something to piss me off during his term. That goes without saying. And he’s a Republican – a party I am especially angry with, as they trick liberty-loving people into voting for them with promises of smaller government and cowboy bravado, but then they grow government, partly through pork-barrel spending. So out he goes, right? Well, that’s what the Democrats are hoping. And I’ve thought about it. But the Republicans are the lesser of the two evils, and the Democrats are the evil of two lessers, as discussed previously.

Okay, how about the two men as individuals? The following really caught my eye in an article on Jim Webb in the June 15th edition of The Economist:

Mr Webb is not much good with people, and has no patience for such campaign chores as fund-raising. He knows little about the issues, save one: the war in Iraq, which he passionately opposes.

Great. A one-issue candidate. And it’s not exactly an issue on which I find Allen particularly out of line. I’ll be writing more on this race between now and the election, partly in order to make sure I’ve got my thoughts as straight as possible on it. And I will definitely be watching Allen and Webb tomorrow morning on Meet the Press. What, no Gail Parker? I have to say that early on, I am leaning hard away from the Webb campaign, because I haven’t seen his camp demonstrate that he would do anything better than Allen has. It’s all been about macaca and race-baiting. I demand substance.

Full disclosure: Jon Henke has been hired asNetroots Coordinator with the George Allen Senate Campaign. He is blogging the campaign at GeorgeAllen.com. And he is a personal friend of mine. But what I say is what I think, and I have no qualms about telling a friend when I think they are wrong, or even just overstating their case. Anybody who doubts this will be directed to my friends who co-blog with me on this site, who will be happy to tell you that I don’t let friendship get in the way of hashing out a good disagreement.