Forget the horse race, and just vote for who you think would be the best president, based on your own view of our national priorities. Then let the chips fall where they may.

One of the most distressing aspects of the horse race is seeing presumptive progressives wail that the country is not ready to elect a woman or a black man. I believe either Clinton or Obama can be elected, but not if Dem voters talk themselves out of giving one of them a shot. Talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy.

As it happens, I'm not planning to vote for either of them on Super Duper Tuesday. I'm putting foreign policy experience at the top of my list of priorities, as I believe that is the greatest crisis we now face. I also decided early on to weigh heavily the untelevised debate. So Joe Biden will get my vote if he's still kicking.

is improving, but it's still a long way off in most places. Right now it requires a tremendous amount of energy, with the attending problems of cost and hazardous waste. I'm sure we'll get better at it.

but make it brief. In fact, here's what I would tell him:

"Dude."

But first watch some Bud Light commercials, and rent Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure -- this is necessary research, for you have to get the inflection right. The first "dude" should be quiet, offhanded, and non-accusatory -- in office-speak, this would be the "heads-up 'dude'".

If he farts again, your second "dude" should draw out the "uuuu" sound a little longer, and allow your pitch to rise a bit at the end. The unmistakable implication -- he's been told once already, now you're thinking of possible remedial courses of action.

A third fart should elicit a barking "dude" of finality, followed by a purposeful march out of the room (you're only going to get some air, but it's okay to let him think you're registering a complaint).

Honestly, that should do the trick. But if he persists, a fourth and final "dude" should be employed -- in a beseeching tone to your supe or HR department, asking to be relocated, because evidently the dude can't help himself.

and most people I know are taking voluntary personal measures to curb their water use. Lots of ideas are being bandied about around here on both individual and public levels. I was able to cut my consumption by almost 40% in the most recent billing cycle using a variety of methods.

Blame us for not taking on the problem sooner if you want to -- I'll agree, and also say it's human nature not to address problems until they become crises. That said, the crisis is here and we're open to any serious suggestions.

to learn that he did not gain admission to the Hall of Fame, and also that he is dead.

Raines is one of those guys who posted his HOF resume in his 20s, then stuck around so long that people forgot how amazing he had been. He morphed from Rickey Henderson-lite to Sarge Matthews-lite. It looks like he'll need to be the beneficiary of a long campaign for enshrinement.

for the airing out of psychodramas. Why here, I wonder?

Other countries might conclude that that some limits on speech do not necessarily leads to an erosion of free speech in general.

How could anyone conclude that? Limits on speech, by definition, erode freedom of speech. These laws not only put you on the slippery slope -- they are the actual grease.

It's a reference to an old soundbyte, I believe of Hank Stram. It wouldn't be funny the way Chris Berman would have said it (complete with attribution and hammy impression). But just as a throw-in, it gave me a smug chuckle of shared knowledge.

I swear, if I see someone who appears to me to have their own free will being described as a "Clinton surrogate" one more time, I believe my head will explode. Nobody else has surrogates, just supporters, organizers, and volunteers. This notion that, unlike EVERY other campaign, the Clintons give marching orders to everyone from billionaires to rural campaign volunteers truly boggles the mind. Are you even aware that you're doing this, Tim Grieve, or are you just a passive receptor of the meme?

Signed,

An Obama Supporter

For at least paying lip service to the notion that Johnson and Rangel spoke of their own free will, and aren't being given marching orders. Is it true? I don't know, but the presumption of Clinton surrogacy, both here and elsewhere, is tiring to at least one reader.

once a species (even the great polar bear) is extinct, succeeding generations of humans won't even know to miss them. They might as well be pterodactyls.

At the same time, a show like Roots revealed/promoted a belief that black people ARE people, something that wasn't really popular during the 80's when the series aired.

Roots aired in 1977. Get your facts straight if you are going to presume to lecture.

are you denying my point, that Roots made a lot of white people think of black people as people for the first time in their lives?

Let's just say that, while wondering what prompted you to bring it up in the first place, I find ample room to agree that Roots was probably the most groundbreaking television show ever aired, while recalling that black people were generally not thought of as sub-human beforehand. It was an argument in search of an adversary, to which it seems I (perhaps foolishly) have agreed to take part.

...to catch up with the dedicated KO'F letter-writers of the past several weeks. With this week's entry, though, I'm finally on board. We are being fucked with.