Someone sent me an interesting quote, attributed to Mark Twain: "Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on... or by imbeciles who really mean it."

Let's apply this to the presidential candidates for 2012.

Q: I didn't find that your "big vs. little government" article expressed my views. I advocate "big enough" government. Only the federal government grants freedom to the people. They must be big enough to enforce it. They must be big enough to face up to big business to protect the public from bad business practices including environmental pollution. And apparently big enough to bail out the banking industry whenever they don't do their job of managing risk. Without big enough government we are governed by the owners of big business. That's what I want the government to protect me from.

A reporter from the Daily Iowan recently wrote Dr. Hurd the following: "I attended [Newt] Gingrich's event today and he talked about his plan to promote more research in brain science. He said that not only will advances in this area of science help millions affected by diseases, such as dementia, but also reduce a significant amount of cost. At one point he said that by 2050 this cost will amount to 1 and 1/2 federal deficits. One person in the crowd argued that this area was "small potatoes" and the country should focus on other areas which cause more problems, like obesity. From a health professional's standpoint, does focusing on advancement in brain science impact a lot and should we be focusing energy in other areas?"

Where I live, in a tiny town on the Atlantic coast of tiny Delaware, I'm surrounded by the most liberal of Democrats. It's like a mini-San Francisco of the east here. This gives me some good insight into what liberals are thinking these days. Here's what I hear the most: "I am very disappointed by Obama. I know things aren't good. But what does the Republican side have to offer? I could live with Mitt Romney, though."