Today is the first day of election year. There are some things to admire about most of the Democratic candidates: Howard Dean is a refreshingly honest speaker who doesn't come with a set of robot talking points. John Kerry (despite his "I'll side with Bush to make Dean look bad" strategy) has a wonderful environmental record. Carol Mosely Braun is intelligent and articulate and passionately addresses the reality that non-white males (that is to say, most of us) are given short shrift in this country. John Edwards is articulate and address the issues head-on. Al Sharpton tells it just like it is. Wesley Clark (despite his background) does indeed appear to have embraced solid liberal values, and--despite initial stumbling--is carrying a solid message. Dick Gephardt has a long record of standing up for working people and the poor. Even Joe Lieberman, generally considered the most conservative-leaning of the candidates, has a record of protecting civil rights and working hard in the Senate to help families.

But what if there were a candidate with a decades-long record of standing up proudly for all liberal values, a candidate who kept getting re-elected, even though s/he espoused "leftist" values at every opportunity? Who years ago not only saw the danger of huge corporate takeovers of communities, but who did something to stop it? Someone about whom there has never been a breath of scandal? Someone whose tireless work for peace among all people resulted in major international recognition? Someone so intelligent that s/he is able to infuse immense historical and factual knowledge with passion and pragmatism? Someone who whose platform thoughtfully address all of America's problems, even the ones that never get talked about, like child abuse?

There is! It's Congressman Dennis John Kucinich, and he's running for president. Now is the time to help him raise the funds he needs, and to contact the major news media, who repeatedly deny him equal time and call him a "minor" candidate because they made him one.