They're stuck with each other and they've got to ride all the way to the end of the line and it's a one-way trip and the last stop is the cemetery.

While we're in the midst of one of the most contentious primaries I can remember one cannot help but stop in and visit the comments sections of any of the major "neutral" progressive blogs without reading some form of the following remarks espoused by supporters of one or the other of the two remaining democratic candidates:

"I will never vote for Senator xxx if they win the nomination. I'd sooner vote for John McCain."

Curious as to why self-identified Democrats would prefer a Republican Senator and new BFB (Best Friend of Bush) to a Senator from their own party I quickly came to the conclusion, as I often do, that I must be in the dark about something. As an example: that whole line dancing phenomenon a few years ago caught me completely flat-footed. Don't even get me started on the Hannah Montana thing.

The obvious solution would be to dive into the candidates positions and try and figure out what is about John McCain that is so appealing to so many Democrats. There has to be something more than his pension for angrily swearing at fellow Senators and propensity to akwardly hug George W. Bush that appeals to blue-state progressives.

So I did a little research. By which I mean I screwed around with "the google." What I found surprised me. Clearly my fellow Democrats were right and McCain was the superior choice. Just consider the following issues --

Abortion/ Stem-Cells

Barack Obama voted against the ban on late term abortion. He supports "legalized abortion in accordance with Roe v. Wade." He has voted against parental notification and for expansion of Embryonic Stem-Cell lines.

Hillary Clinton voted against the ban on late term abortion. She voted against parental notification and for expansion of Embryonic Stem-Cell lines. She has a 100% NARAL voting record.

John McCain voted for the ban on late term abortion. He voted for a continued ban of abortion on military bases, for mandatory parental notification, has indicated he would like to see Roe v. Wade overturned and has a 0% NARAL rating.

Clearly John McCain is the best choice for those of use who want to protect the right to choose.

Judiciary

Barack Obama voted no on confirming Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. He voted no toconfirming John Roberts as Chief Justice.

Hillary Clinton voted no on confirming Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. She voted no to confirming John Roberts as Chief Justice.

John McCain voted yes on confirming Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court. He voted yes toconfirming John Roberts as Chief Justice.

Once again McCain appears the clear choice for progressives who fear the court has moved to far to the right in recent years.

Iraq

Barack Obama promises to "...immediately begin to remove our troops from Iraq. He will remove one to two combat brigades each month, and have all of our combat brigades out of Iraq within 16 months. Obama will make it clear that we will not build any permanent bases in Iraq. He will keep some troops in Iraq to protect our embassy and diplomats; if al Qaeda attempts to build a base within Iraq, he will keep troops in Iraq or elsewhere in the region to carry out targeted strikes on al Qaeda."

Hillary Clinton promises to "...end our military engagement in Iraq's civil war and immediately start bringing our troops home. As president, one of Hillary's first official actions would be to convene the Joint Chiefs of Staff, her Secretary of Defense, and her National Security Council. She would direct them to draw up a clear, viable plan to bring our troops home starting with the first 60 days of her Administration."

John McCain promises to keep us in Iraq for a hundred years.

Obviously for those of us who want U.S. troops out of Iraq McCain's the answer.

I could go on and on about this but I think it's clear that, on issue after issue from global warming to ethics to the economy John McCain would obviously make a better President than that Democratic Senator running against your candidate who you hate with every fiber of your being.

I don't know why I didn't see that sooner.