> I still stand by my statement that abortion is not the most important issue in a [presidential] election.

An excellent post, and I would agree with the points you make.

> That _one issue_ thing is what really bothers me. People are ready to let our space program, our military, our social programs, our education system, or whatever you really care about go to hell just because they are blinded by the abortion issue and don't realize who can actually solve it.

Some people are; I'm not one of them. I had my mind made up before I thought the abortion angle through as completely as I discussed in my post. If for some reason I found myself agreeing with everyone one candidate stood for EXCEPT for abortion -- it's convenient that that hasn't happened yet -- then I'm sure I would have given the matter further thought and arrived at conclusions similar to yours.

One thing is clear, not just with respect to abortion but with respect to a great many issues, it sure is important to know how many Supreme Court vacancies a president will be filling during his term. Um. How many are due to be filled for the next four years? :-)

> As an aside, it seems that you wrote some of the above to be directed at me (if I'm mistaken, you have my apologies).

No, that was all thought triggered by your comment but not directed at it.