A political discussion between Red State conservative Dave Simpson - a former reporter, editor, publisher and columnist - and Greg Bean, Blue Stater and executive editor of Greater Media Newspapers. Let us know what you think.

Dear Greg:

Our readers should know that you suggested in an e-mail this week that I address the issue of Barack Obama's admission that as a young man he drank alcohol and took drugs. No thanks, Greg. In the words of George the First, "Read my lips - not gonna do it, and don't cry for me, Argentina.'' (George the First talked a lot like George the Second.)

Just as sure as I say anything about Obama's revelation, you will come roaring back with a long list of Republicans who got drunk and fell into a Washington reflecting pool, got elected on a family values platform and turned out to have a pregnant girlfriend on the side, or sucked on a prostitute's toes. (No, wait, that last one was a Democrat at the time, although I think he's a Republican now.)

It's tough enough being a Republican these days, with their big-spending ways, without having to defend guys who send dirty e-mails to congressional pages, or look for love in airport men's rooms.

As you know, I back Rudy Giuliani for president, so I've even become more tolerant of guys who dress up as women, as long as they don't make a habit of it. If a candidate will promise to kill the terrorists before they kill us, I don't care how many times he's been married, or if his former police commissioner paid his taxes. Mistakes get made.

Most of us sowed some wild oats in our days, Greg, and I can find other reasons not to vote for your man Barack.

Years ago, when I was a footloose assistant editor, I was known to partake of beer. Sometimes I drank beer with another footloose newspaper guy, but he was never happy to just drink beer. No, after a pitcher of beer, this guy would go up to the bar and buy shots of Jack Daniel's whiskey, which we would be obligated to drink, because, as you know, wasting whiskey causes global warming.

I'd have to walk home from the bar when that happened, and the next day I'd have a terrible hangover.

Hey, wait a minute. It's all coming back now. THAT GUY WAS YOU, GREG! You were the guy who bought the shots of whiskey!

And now you're trying to get me to point fingers at Obama, so you can trap me. Real nice.

Frankly, I'm much more disturbed about something else I read about a Democratic presidential candidate this week. They asked what the candidates' all-time favorite television show was, and your gal Hillary Clinton said "The Ed Sullivan Show."

I understand the Beatles part of that, but are we ready for a president who actually enjoyed the spinning plates on sticks act, or the incredibly lame Topo Gigio? And, who reminds you of Richard Nixon more than Ed Sullivan? Man, oh Manischewitz, Greg, ED SULLIVAN? And this woman wants to be PRESIDENT?

Obama gets a pass, but not Hillary. One last thing, Greg: No shots for me.

Sincerely, Red State Dave

Dear Dave:

Oops, busted! And it was such a good plan, too. Suck him in with some nice shiny bait, then … whammo! … hit him with Dick Cheney's drunken driving arrests, Wilbur Mills, Newt Gingrich and a whole host of other Republican miscreants.

So many one-liners, so little time. Sadly, it's not to be, although I think it's hitting below the belt to start mentioning details of personal history. We've known each other too long to go down that road, pardner. Do you remember a certain bachelor party, for example? I'll bet you'd be fairly happy to keep the story of that one out of the tabloids. Don't push too hard, Dave-o. Know what I mean?

In my own defense, I'll admit buying the occasional shot of whiskey in a dingy saloon and drinking it (something I haven't done for years), and suggesting that others do so as well. But I learned from experience that forcing Republicans to drink bourbon is the only way to loosen them up enough to make them tolerable in polite society. Come on, be honest here. Don't you think you're a lot funnier after a couple of shooters? I certainly remember a time (or two) when you did, although certain bartenders might take issue.

But, as I said, we're not gonna go down that rocky trail. Instead, since you don't want to talk about Barack Obama's admission that he used drugs, and I don't really want to talk about Ed Sullivan or Topo Gigio, let's talk about Mike Huckabee, who seems to have suddenly become a front-runner in the GOP race for president, at least in Iowa.

Let me ask you this, Dave. Besides the facts that he was endorsed by Chuck Norris and that as governor of Arkansas he pardoned Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards for a three-decades-old traffic ticket, how much do you know about this whackadoo?

Did you know, for example, that he does not believe in evolution? How could we have a president in this day and age who does not believe in evolution? Does he think all those fossilized bones are stage props in a cosmic opera?

Did you know that the list of ethical problems his gubernatorial administration faced could only have been appreciated by Spiro Agnew? Did you know that his record as a tax hiker and increaser of government programs, like expanded health coverage for children and subsidized higher education for the children of illegal immigrants, is the envy of every tax-and-spend politician south of the Mason-Dixon line, and lots of them above?

As a candidate, I predicted that the more people learn about Rudy Giuliani, the less they'll like him, and I still think that's true. But what I've learned so far about Mike Huckabee scares the shivering fantods out of me, and if it's between him and Rudy, we'd better hope Rudy wins. As a Rudy supporter, however, you probably knew that all along. Were you gonna keep it to yourself?

Cheers and salutations,

Blue State Greg

You can reach Greg Bean at gbean

@gmnews.com. Dave Simpson can be

reached at d_simpson@bresnan.net.