I’m not particularly happy with either of the choices offered up by the two main political parties in the coming presidential election (Bush or Kerry).

Watching Junior spend money like a sailor on leave, driving up the nation’s deficit, is just a disaster waiting to happen but, his alternative can in no way be painted as a ‘man of the people.’

Our nation’s richest chief executives in order of personal wealth:
(figures adjusted for inflation)

Rank	Name	Party	Term
1.	George Washington	None*	1789-1797
2.	John F. Kennedy	Democrat	1961-1963
	John F. Kerry**	Democrat	NA
3.	Andrew Jackson	Democrat	1829-1837
4.	Lyndon B. Johnson	Democrat	1963-1969
5.	Herbert Hoover	Republican	1929-1933

*President Washington was generally aligned with Federalist doctrine, though he was not formally a member of the Federalist Party or any political party.
** Candidate. NA: not applicable.

But, then again maybe Kerry’s campaign motto will spring from the history of the company his wife is heir to, See? No leaves, no wood fiber, no turnip filler.

Still, as much as I have been alarmed by the growing number of jobs being sent overseas, there are alternative arguments:

I don't think that Kerry should shut down The Heinz 57, but he might drop the rhetoric and talk about trade responsibly. He should support, not trade’s contraction, but its expansion, like George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and every president since Herbert Hoover.

and there’s also...

Sen. John Kerry is fond of calling CEOs who employ foreigners “Benedict Arnolds,” after the despicable Revolutionary War turncoat. But look at H.J. Heinz & Co., the family business of Kerry and his wife Teresa. Of the 79 factories that the food-processor owns, 57 (a felicitous number!) are overseas. According to its website, Heinz is making ketchup, pizza crust, baby cereal and other edibles in such countries as Poland, Venezuela, Botswana, China, Thailand and India.

So, I’m in a quandary about who to support in the coming months. Maybe if I decide to vote for JK, I’ll show my support by downloading this.