Political Persona

<> Let's not delude ourselves! None of us have arrived at our political orientation thru pure and open minded cerebration. Where we stand politically is the subliminal product of our total life experience. What we absorbed from our rearers during our most impressionable years, how we related to and identified with our peers, friends and colleagues as we grew, what we learned from our education (school-taught and self-sought) what we read, view and audit, our religious affiliations, our ethnicity and even the color of our skin; all of these, and more, have shaped our thinking and attitude formation.

<> So, how can one know, or test for the core integrity of their political nature? Try this - You are voting in 1864 and you have to choose between Lincoln, the Republican, who is determined to pursue the Civil War, preserve the Union and abolish slavery; or McClellan, the Democrat, whose platform committed him to end the war, condone the South's secession and turn a blind eye to the institution of slavery. Now try, without allowing your retrospective view of history to intrude, to determine who you would have voted for, and why (?)

<> McClellan was endorsed by the Northeast and strongly supported by the NY Times