PSA: Glassbooth.com

This is a handy online tool that intends to help you learn which Presidential candidate is most likely to share your priorities with respect to the various political issues of our time. It is non-partisan and is based on a simple quiz format that takes about 5 minutes to complete.

I found the process kind of fun and the results a little surprising. According to the calculations, Governer Huckabee and I share an 80% consensus on the issues we consider priorities. Honestly, I wouldn't have thought that. Next in line was the unknown and unimportant Duncan Hunter and then America's Mayor, Rudy Giuliani.

Lately, I've actually found myself liking Fred Thompson more and more, but maybe that's just because he seems like such a likable guy and he doesn't mind slapping the press around when necessary. I met Governor Huckabee once, back in 1998, and he gave me an autographed copy of his book, "Character IS the Issue." Nice guy and a great book, but I really just haven't been swayed by his presidential aspirations to date.

Anyway, I suspect that the science behind this site is not terrifically complicated or unassailably definitive, but it is interesting and you may find it helpful.

Update: I've been thinking about this. This tool is, I think, effective at weighing the perceived importance of the most compelling topics of our time, but it doesn't cover everything. In every decision, large or small, emotion and intuition exert a significant influence. Our choice for who we prefer to be President will also be based on less tangible ideas such as our perceptions of their individual integrity, leadership capabilities, intelligence, resourcefulness, and personality. The impressions we form on those topics have little to do with the nuts-and-bolts social or political issues, I think, but are still important.

Which is probably why I think I'd enjoy having Thompson, Huckabee, or Obama over for dinner, but Clinton, Paul, and Biden make me uneasy.