Back in May, we spoke to Jesse Johnson, a West Virginian running for the Green Party Presidential nomination. Johnson lost the nomination to Cynthia McKinney, but his words have haunted us since. “The Republicans and Democrats are just the right and left wings of the Corporate Party,” Johnson said. Unfortunately, we believe him.

We would love to see more parties gain power and have their voices heard. We believe it is absurd that only the Republican and Democratic candidates for President are invited to the debates.

We also consider the words of former Alaska Sen. Mike Gravel, who had an unsuccessful bid for the Presidency this year and endorsed the Green Party’s Johnson back in May. “We’ve seen the havoc the two parties can wreak, on a global scale, by locking out the voices of reason, by eliminating the third party voices,” Gravel said. “I want to amplify those voices to save our country from our own shortsighted and greedy actions. If we want to end the war in Iraq, provide health care to all citizens, educate our young people, we’re going to have to start not only working together with these alternate parties, but literally working to support them.”

So in our consideration for President, we carefully weighed the platforms, credentials, and various intangibles of the Democrats, Greens, Libertarians, Independents, and Republicans, as those were on the ballots in the highest number states. Our apologies to the many other parties struggling to have their voices heard.

Onto our rankings:

5. Sen. John McCain with Gov. Sarah Palin of the Republican Party. As in the recent Presidential debate, McCain does claim over and over that he wants to rein in government spending (although his voting record with President George W. Bush indicates he is part of our current problem in government spending). We agree with McCain that government spending is out of control. That’s about where our agreements with McCain end. From his stance on taxes to health care to social issues, we disagree with McCain on virtually every major issue. And his choice of Palin as a running mate solidifies our concerns about his poor judgment.

4. Bob Barr with Wayne Allyn Root of the Libertarian Party. Barr is a former member of the House of Representatives from Georgia. He was a Republican then. We like Barr’s fiscal responsibility and desire to reduce the size of government. And we like the fact that Barr spent his young life in places such as Malasia, Pakistan, Panama, and Iran. We are happy that while in Congress Barr spoke out against the Bush administrations attacks on civil liberties, going against his party to disagree with Bush.

But the bottom line is that Barr was one of the more conservative Congressmen in his three terms in office. He authored and sponsored the Defense of Marriage Act. And he was a leader in the highly partisan effort to impeach President Bill Clinton. For conservatives, we see Barr as a better candidate with a better platform than McCain, but that’s as about as much of an endorsement as we can give the Libertarians this year.

3. Cynthia McKinney with Rosa Clemente of the Green Party. McKinney was the first African American woman to represent Georgia in the House of Representatives. She was then a Democrat. Generally, we agree philosophically more with the Green Party more than any other party. And we enjoy the diversity that the ticket brings, with two women of color running for President and Vice President. The Green Party’s 10 Key Values closely align with our own thoughts on government. When urged to “vote your values,” it is difficult to not vote for the Green Party, but we feel that this election has other complicated matters to consider.

McKinney found herself in some hot water in 2006 when she allegedly struck a Capitol security officer after he failed to recognize her as a member of Congress. And while we like Clemente’s activism and fiery rhetoric, we’re not sure she is ready for the Presidency if it were necessary for her to lead. The Green Party deserves more attention in this country, and it will hopefully make progress in some local elections this year, but this is not the time nor the ticket to elevate the Greens into the White House.

2. Ralph Nader with Matt Gonzalez as Independents. We have a tremendous respect for consumer advocate, lawyer, and author Ralph Nader. We agree with most of his platform. He has done an amazing job in fighting for the rights of regular Americans. While we believe that San Francisco City Councilman Matt Gonzalez, whom Nader selecting for his running mate, has the potential to be a rising political star, we don’t see him as VP material yet. And with Nader actually being older than McCain, we have to take a strong look at the VP candidate on this Independent ticket.

Many Democrats, progressives, and maybe now much of the country, hold a grudge against Nader because they think he pulled enough votes away from Al Gore to allow Bush to steal the Presidency. Well, it’s not Nader’s fault for fighting for what he believes. He has a strong sense for social justice and democracy for all Americans, and for that he should be applauded. It would have been nice to see Nader win the election in 2000 or 2004. Nader should be recognized as an American hero, but as an aging candidate with failed bids for the Presidency in his background, we see this election as too important to endorse another bid by Nader.

Stay tuned for our official endorsement!