Who I am not voting for for President

In eight days the Presidential season officially begins with the Iowa caucuses. The evidence I have seen and the people I have talked with are not excited about having a perpetual campaign to choose the nation's leader - but they seem not to have been given a choice here.

As I thought about the choices we are being offered, I find I am not excited about anyone who is running - although some encourage a bit more excitement than others. Thus, as a first step, I have eliminated all of the following candidates for president (not listed in order of non-preference):

#1 - Dennis Kuchinich - His personal and intellectual stature seem to be matched perfectly. This is the guy who says the public sector has a "moral responsibility" to provide jobs. He would, presumably by fiat, double our use of renewable energy sources by 2010. Before coming to congress he was mayor of Cleveland and a hospital orderly, newspaper copy boy, teacher, consultant, television analyst and author. If these were in order, the first two are definitely in the correct position. (and even possibly #3).
#2 - John Edwards - This guy would lose my vote simply by his callous disregard of his wife's health - even if he weren't as looney as Kuchinich. He had a mediocre record as a senator and before that was an extortionist trial lawyer.
#3 - Bill Richardson - Hillary's lapdog actually has a couple of good ideas including support for the blue pencil (the line item veto) but his pathetic performance as a candidate (where he seems to try to snuggle up to Hillary at every event) is embarrassing. He is one of the leaders of the cut and run faction of the democrats.
#4 - Joe Biden - Biden would divide Iraq into three regions. He is often on the looney tunes side of the ledger (he was the guy who in a campaign stop in Delaware said you had to be Indian to run a donut franchise in his home state.
#5 - Mike Gravel - Does anyone think he is more than a buffoon?
#6 - Ron Paul - This is an odd campaign - an intellectual approach to politics being run by a doctrinaire ideologue. Ayn Rand would be proud but most people look at his ideas and giggle.
#7 - Duncan Hunter - This is the least likely of all to be put on this list. Congressman Hunter is a fairly reliable conservative voice who has at times provided leadership but there is a time in every politician's life when someone must say - sorry sir you have not got a snowball's chance in hell of being elected.
#8 - I might have put in Christopher Dodd - and he probably should be there. Most US Senators make lousy presidents.

At some time in the future, I will go through the remaining candidates to explain who I might vote for. But I can only stand so much at a time.