I've been accused of being a Republican shill because I have less than nice things to say about John Kerry and because I happen to believe George W. Bush is better for America. I don't take that stance because I'm Republican, as I have stated many times in the past I'm a member of the Libertarian party. In the past I have even been a Libertarian committeeman.

I'll admit I'm not the most partisan Libertarian, I align myself with them more because I believe Americans deserve a viable third party alternative than because I believe they have the one true answer to political truth.

But to say that there are no Democrats I admire is wrong. I greatly admire Harry Truman, and not because he was born so close to here.

Truman had many faults and his belief in the liberal workers agenda of the day was one of them. But Truman also believed that America had to be strong in its relations with other countries and never wavered when it came to defending this nation.

Truman also went against the advice of his closest advisers and recognized Israel, the first world leader to do so. Truman knew it was the right thing to do and did it, despite whatever negative outcomes his advisers said might occur.

Truman made hard choices, and stuck with them. He was the polar opposite of today's Democrat who scans the polls to find out what to think before making a decision, then scans them afterwards to see if it was the right decision, based on the results of new polls.

Another Democrat I admire is our own Congressman, Ike Skelton. Skelton is the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee. He is a veteran lawmaker who has served this state well.

Skelton attended the Wentworth Military Academy and graduated from Lexington High School, then attended the University of Missouri at Columbia. After becoming a lawyer Skelton was a prosecuting attorney, a state senator, and for nearly thirty years has been this area's Congressman.

An Eagle Scout, a member of Sigma Chi social fraternity, a Lions Club member, and vice chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation. Skelton is an elder of the First Christian Church in Lexington.

There are other Democrats out there that I admire, these two just happen to be from the area and are recognizable to my readers. The qualities that make for a good public servant vary from individual to individual, but these two share a core set of values that all good public servants must have.

Many of our Vernon County office holders are Democrats. I've seen them at work and I have a lot of respect for them. I can't name you a single one I would not vote for simply based on the fact they're Democrats.

In today's extremely partisan atmosphere it is hard not to come off as one-sided when you support one candidate or another. I don't like John Kerry, I don't like his Boston snobbery, I don't like his willingness to throw American interests to the international wolves, and I especially don't like what he did when he returned from Vietnam. But none of these things have anything to do with what party Kerry belongs to.

It's not about party politics, it's about the man himself. Kerry has done nothing to make me think he has moderated his radical, anti-American stance since his vitriolic testimony before Congress.

I may not like George W. Bush very much, but I at least can admire him for his forthrightness. Besides, liking someone a little is an order of magnitude better than despising someone from the soles of his Italian shoes to the top of his $300 haircut.