JACK, TEDDY & US

Just South of Crazy.

Have you ever heard of the Political Compass? In a nutshell, you take this test and it evaluates your answers and generates a number that can be plotted on a chart with axis including Authoritarian, Libertarian, Left, and Right. That is to say that the Compass itself is more than a linear measure of where you fall between left, right and moderate...After all, both Stalin and Gandhi were leftists, so obviously a linear model isn't all that helpful.

Here's a link to the test. It takes about 3 or 5 minutes to finish the whole thing and it's really interesting. At the end, you can see a chart of the 2008 presidential candidates and where they fall on the chart. You may be shocked. I sort of thought I knew where I was going to fall, but I was still surprised when I compared my placement to theirs!

Ok - go take the test right now and come back before you read any further. I don't want to spoil it for you!

Alright - so where did I land? I landed near Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel. Which is a little embarrassing because most people think they are crazyhorses. But, even in 2004, whenever I took a "find the candidate whose views match yours" quiz, good old [teeny] Kucinich was right at the top of my results. The thing is, I'm not embarrassed. I think most of my democrat friends would fall into the same general area. He and Gravel are the two candidates who acknowledge that gay marriage is an equality issue and that of course it should be legal. The only thing I really disagree with Kucinich about is Israel - which is a big enough deal to me to send my vote elsewhere. Other than that, he gets my whole Star Trek mentality - hell, he even has the ears.

What I am actually embarrassed about is where all of the other democratic candidates fall within the chart. Apparently, whether their answers depict their actual positions or their what-they-think-will-get-them-elected positions, all but the two supposed crazies are right of center. Which is weird to me. Not surprising, but weird. I really think that Hillary knows better. I doubt she believes in a god and I doubt she thinks gay marriage is wrong. I just think she - and Bill, too - are too intellectual and philosophical to believe otherwise. Not that people who do believe in a god and/or don't believe in gay marriage are dumb and shallow - you all know what I mean.

So??? Where did you fall on the chart?! Please tell us in the comments - I'm dying to know!

posted by sandy @ 4:18 PM