>The question becomes, does our civic responsibility to vote supercede our disgust with the entire process and the candidates?
>
Unfortunately, what happens is that our digust with the process and candidates lead us to vote against, rather than for, a candidate.

I would imagine that a McCain-Clinton race would see large numbers of conservatives holding their noses and voting for McCain because they can't stomach the thought of another Clinton in the White House.

Perhaps I'm naive and/or ignorant, but I can't believe that enough voters were satisfied with Bush's performance in his first term to warrant returning him for a second. Rather, he won because Kerry was, in their opinion, a totally unsuitable substitute. Just as I'm sure that a significant number of Democrats did not vote FOR Kerry but (as I did) voted for "Anybody but Bush."

What has happened and will, I think, continue to happen is that the survivor will regard his/her victory as an affirmation of the candidacy rather than a rejection of the opponent.

Edwin Newman's description of a modern election as "the evil of two lessers" rings more true today than most times in the past. I'm also strongly considering not voting this time around because there is nobody whose candidacy I can support.