Michael Moore writes, "Personally, Congressman Kucinich, more than any other candidate, shares the same positions that I have on the issues." Great. So why not vote for him? Moore continues, "But let's not waste time talking about Dennis. Even he is resigned to losing, with statements like the one he made yesterday to his supporters in Iowa to throw their support to Senator Obama as their 'second choice.'"



No Michael, that does not mean Kucinich is resigned to losing. You don't understand how the Iowa caucus works. There are a few things you need to know.



First, only two candidates have ever won Iowa, then won the presidency: GW Bush and Jimmy Carter. Iowa isn't as important as the media make it out to be. Kucinich has focused his attention on New Hampshire for now, because he's smart.



Second, there's no need to put second choice in quotes. Iowa caucus voters do get real second choices. They can vote for Kucinich first. If he gets less than 15% of the vote, which is what happens to the average candidate in an 8-way race (do the math), then they need to pick somebody else.



Third, Kucinich cares about his country. He's willing to pay political cost for what's right. I'm sure Kucinich has political advisors who tell him that people who don't understand the Iowa caucus will misinterpret his "second choice" advocacy as a concession. But he wants the right thing to happen. This is the way he operates.



Kucinich voted against the Iraq war when it was politically inadvisable to do so. He was right. Other candidates who voted for the war were wrong. Do you want a politically cautious President, or one who will be right the first time? I'm voting for the one who was right the first time. I'm voting for Kucinich.



It's about time we had a principled, honest leader who won't do everything for political purposes, the way the Karl Rove White House did for seven years. And we can have one. All it takes for you people out there who are moping about, saying, "I like Dennis Kucinich, but he can't win" to stand up straight and vote with your mind and conscience. The media don't pick our President. We do.

