Okay, okay, I'll do it. Today's "I am going with Bush in 2004 (and Perdue in 2006)" post was tongue-in-cheek. You can still speak to me.

The most I have in common with President Bush is that we are both Methodists. Today, after an early a.m. post entitled "I'm with the Dean on this one -- The V.P. Debate last night convinced me. I am going with Bush in 2004 (and Perdue in 2006)," I was treated as if I was a Baptist in a liquor store.

You know what I mean. As in how do you tell the difference between a Methodist and a Baptist? A Methodist will speak to you in the liquor store.

You can still speak to me, and while you are at it, keep reading my blog.

Today there was one "official" comment to the post. It was short and to the point -- "Say it ain't so Sid!"

Others sent comments to me "privately," that is, comments sent directly to my email address of scottingham@alltel.net (available by clicking "View my complete profile"), wanting to know what in the heck I had seen in last night's Vice Presidential debate that could have caused me to jump ship.

Still others wanted confirmation, even after I had posted my own "Comment" noted below. I assume this was confirmation that I knew about what I was speaking to be able to say that the Dean had not taken leave of his senses.

My chest swelled with pride and my head got even bigger than usual from the inquiries assuming I might have spoken with the Dean, his Highness, Chairman Emeritus of everything with which he has ever been associated, about such a weighty matter.

But lo, I must confess, I am unable to provide such confirmation from the Dean's end; I do not have my mentor's proxy to be able to speak for him, and such confirmation will have to come from elsewhere.

Thus while I use the Dean's name a lot, never assume I can speak for him. I love the Dean; I hang on his every word; but you must recognize reality as I do.

I am a peon, a proletariat, a PFC (as in Private First Class); the Dean is the dean, a General. (Okay, I am close to using PFC in a manner Sen. Miller might describe as a metaphor. I was in the U.S. Army; received an Honorable Discharge from the same as a Captain, and in at this respect, probably outrank the Dean who also proudly served his country in the armed forces. Okay, another Miller metaphor was used; a Captain does not outrank a General; and I assure you, I will give you a wooden nickel, anything, if I am wrong about this -- the Dean was not actually a General.)

But I have been reading the Dean for a long time.

Additionally, I have not heard from my daughter who lives in the metro area of there being any earthquakes up that way that could have resulted in the Dean suffering a severe blow to his head, and a late afternoon checking of this week's admittances to the State Hospital in Milledgeville did not indicate that the Dean had been taken a new domicile there.

One comment from a friend whose identity will remain unspoken wrote after my Comment. "It was just an odd post because I didn't detect a hint of irony. Am I missing something? I just read over it again and got the same
impression."

Again, I can only speak for Sid. But this much I can do. If future columns provide any insight on the subject from the Dean (and he has a couple of more weeks to go before Nov. 2), they will be posted on this blog forthwith (assuming he is voting for Kerry of course, or more accurately stated, assuming you read his column as I read it, he is voting against Bush; this is how I am voting, something that should come as no surprise).

My feelings are reflected in my Comment to the Comment saying "Say it ain't so Sid!," shared in the event you don't read comments:

It ain't so.

Do you remember a column Bill Shipp wrote in mid-July about the then upcoming July 20 primary vote. It was the subject of a post I did on August 2, 2004.

Bill Shipp wrote:

SENATE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY: A runoff is inevitable -- maybe. So what does it mean if --

* Multimillionaire Cliff Oxford runs first? Money talks.* Congresswoman Denise Majette captures first? Race dominates.

* Douglas lawyer Sid Cottingham finishes second? Miracles happen.

* Lawyer and anti-war activist Jim Finkelstein finishes second? The invasion of Iraq was an even worse idea than we first thought.

* State Rep. Mary Squires ranks second? The voting machines failed.

* Commercial real estate agent Gorvind N. Patel comes in second? Martians have invaded.

If Bill Shipp and Sid Cottingham vote for George W. Bush for President of the United States on Nov. 2, it means one of the following things. Either the voting machines failed in Alpharetta and Douglas.

And if not this, that the Martians have invaded, and Bill and I panicked and headed for some place that our President assures us daily is safe -- Iraq or Afghanistan come to mind -- and that Martians have voted in our stead.