Not an Endorsement; Simply a Declaration

I don't endorse candidates because that implies I believe someone is foolish enough to change their votes based on my personal preferences. This is more a matter of full disclosure so people can judge how asinine (or sound) my opinions are during this campaign year.

Level 1 - People I Want to be President
Chris Dodd - It means a lot to me that he went to the wall on the FISA bill. It is hard to get a full understanding of Dodd because coverage of his campaign is so thin, but what I have heard I like.
John Edwards - Every political party is filled to the ceiling with people bought and paid for by the rich and powerful. It is past due time for a president willing to look out for the poor and meek.

Level 2 - People Fully Qualified to be President
Barack Obama - Obama strikes me as someone who genuinely believes in using power to help others and not to glorify himself. That is a unique trait that historically has made for great presidents. I worry that he might be more open to waging war than Dodd or Edwards.

Level 3 - People Who, as President, Would be Better than a Stick in the Eye
Hillary Clinton - She is running for herself, not the country. Every decision she makes, even war and peace, will be based totally on whether or not it is good for her. Still, she has several good ideas and, on the whole, would not totally suck as President.
John McCain - Occasionally semi-rational, occasionally a pandering toady. It is impossible to know which trait would dominate were he President. I think, probably, he would occasionally try to do the right thing.

Level 4 - People Who Would be Disasters
Mitt Romney - Romney is what the Republicans always accused Bill Clinton of being. He would be a focus group Decider. There is no political philosophy, no moral principle that isn't for sale within his brain. The only reason to elect Romney is that, after four years, people will look back fondly upon the Bush years.
Fred Thompson - The next best thing to anarchy. Understands little about the issues of our time and cares even less about them. A Thompson presidency would be filled with corruption and blunders.

Level 5 - People Who Scare the Fucking Shit Out of Me
Rudy Giuliani - Make no mistake, Rudy wants the presidency because of a lust for power. He wants to wield that power in ways that will increase his power still more. He will rule from fear and by fear. If you want a historical parallel, Rudy is Joe Stalin in 1922, a dictator wanna-be.
Ron Paul - A flat-out 19th century racist. He has stated that emancipating slaves was wrong because the federal government stole the property of Southern slaveholders.
Mike Huckabee - I don't care what his religion is. What frightens me is that he very much cares what my religion is. Huckabee has openly stated his goal is to "take the country back for Christ." He has a profound disinterest in anything that is not in the Bible. Worse still, he has demonstrated an easy willingness to scrap "Christian morality" in his crusade to Christianize the United States. A Huckabee presidency will divide the nation into three castes. The evangelicals will be the Brahman caste in which all power will be vested. Less radically devotional Christians will fill the Varnas caste. They will be tolerated as long as they don't aspire to the higher ranks of political or economic power. The Untouchables will be the Jews, Muslims, and other non-Christians as well as homosexuals, Hispanics, and Blacks. This "polluted" caste will be lucky even to find jobs.