This morning, I found a picture of the West Palm Beach ballot on the Internet and printed out two copies.

I then went and woke my boys, a first-grader and fourth-grader respectively, to feed them breakfast and get them ready for school. As they sat down at the kitchen table, I gave them each a copy of the "confusing" ballot. Neither had ever seen one before.

The only instruction I gave them was to fill in the circle for Al Gore and Joseph Lieberman. It took each one a matter of seconds to look at the form and select the correct circle on the ballot.

I told my boys I was proud of them, and let them know that a 6- and 9-year-old had, with ease, accomplished something that 19,000 "grownups" in Florida were apparently incapable of doing.

"And not just a 6- and 9-year old, Dad," my oldest boy qualified, "but ones who just woke up."

Conclusion: Anyone in Florida who complains about being confused into voting for the wrong candidate is as shameless as they are stupid. Is it any wonder that such incompetents vote for a nanny state that promises to take care of them, to treat them like children?

No wonder they think that people can't be trusted to take care of themselves, to make adult choices, to assume responsibility for their own happiness and welfare. No wonder that the thought of an armed citizenry scares the hell out of such immature dolts, that they find concepts such as child-proof trigger locks and gun control laws so appealing.

These pre-school intellects presume to establish national policy in a complex, dangerous world, they wish to shred a Constitution they are incapable of fathoming, they want to impose their will on their independence-minded countrymen under force of arms, AND THEY CAN'T EVEN FILL OUT A SIMPLE FORM THAT IS LITERALLY CHILD'S PLAY!

No wonder that free people of disciplined mind and firm resolve refuse to cede inalienable rights to wards of the collective gula...er...village such as these, nor to their would-be caretakers.

Epilog:

Serendipitously, I discovered the following this afternoon, which should remove any doubt as to the utter stupidity and ineptness of these whining, sorry-ass excuses for "free" citizens:

http://www.foxnews.com/national/1110/d_ap_1110_98.sml

Second-graders have no problem with butterfly ballot 2.39 p.m. ET (1954 GMT) November 10, 2000

LEESBURG, Ga. (AP) - That so-called butterfly ballot may have been confusing to the grown-ups in Florida, but some second-graders here made it look like child's play.

School psychologist Ron McGee asked the 8-year-olds at Lee County Elementary to vote for their favorite Disney character, using a ballot similar to the one that has caused controversy in Florida's Palm Beach County. The Palm Beach County ballot listed candidates in two columns, with a space down the center where the voter could mark his or her choice.

Hundreds of angry Palm Beach voters have said the format was so confusing they mistakenly voted for Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan instead of Al Gore.

But McGee said not one of his 74 young voters marked a choice they did not intend to mark on the ballot, which instructed them only to "Check the box for the one you choose.''

"No other directions were given and questions were not answered by teachers,'' McGee said.

McGee's ballot was on one page instead of two, with no split or line down the middle like the Palm Beach ballot. McGee's ballot also had large arrows pointing from the name of the character to the corresponding box. The Palm Beach ballot arrows were smaller.

McGee said the vote was not intended to make a political statement, but simply to test how youngsters would interpret such a ballot.

After the ballots were collected, they were checked by asking each pupil to verify his or her vote.

According to McGee, 71 of the youngsters marked the appropriate space, and three circled their answers instead of checking or filling in the appropriate box.

Mickey Mouse and Goofy tied for the top spot.

David Codrea is a co-founder of GunTruths (http://www.guntruths.com) and a founding member and director of the national RKBA media project, Citizens of America (http://www.citizensofamerica.org). He also writes for Guns & Ammo. Read Mr. Codrea's online writing archive at http://www.KeepAndBearArms.com/Codrea.