... er, pantheist, I mean ...

Really?  Does the FFRF have anything to say on the candidates?

you know, I am a dues paying member of the American Humanist Association ... maybe I should consider joinging the FFRF as well ...

Hi Conn, as is well known here I'm australian and this week I'm cheerfully optimistic in our recent victory for social liberty - I agree it is the most pressing issue of these particular times - in my optimism today I've been looking over the finer points of the US presidential election. In particular I was just looking at a quick reference table which outlines the positions of each candidate on the most noted issues in your country. I don't know if you'll like my answer to your question, but I will say anyhow, based on the information I've gleaned your best candidate, I think, is Dennis Kucinich, a fairly distant second to him are John Edwards and Barack Obama. JMHO.

BTW The republican candidates all look a bit freakin mad to me. My fingers are crossed for you all that none of them win.

PS. I know very little about your third party candidates except, perhaps, that they generally don't get voted for, do they? same occurs over here.

EDIT:: some supporting material {

By removing the trappings of religion from our public schools, courthouses, and other institutions of municipal, state and federal government we actually increase the freedom of everyone to freely and openly practice the beliefs of their choice; by not clothing our public institutions in words and symbols specific to any one religion, we uphold the Constitutional mandate requiring the separation of Church and State. That mandate is one of the cornerstones of our democracy. I believe it protects all of us.

http://atheism.about.com/b/2004/01/21/dennis-kucinich-on-religious-symbols-in-public-areas.htm

This is why I believe that the “faith-based initiative,” which provides specific and controversial ways in which religious organizations and governments may partner to provide social services, violates that basic constitutional mandate. In lending the imprimatur of the state to organizations that are overtly religious, it blurs the distinction between church and state and renders meaningless the promise that our government will not promote one religion over another.

I would do away with the faith-based initiative and instead work through the Department of Peace and other social compacts to promote programs designed to reduce poverty, homelessness, joblessness and illness, and to raise the health, prosperity and cultural literacy of all Americans.

School vouchers also harm rather than help. They bleed vital funds from our public-school system and threaten values vital to the health of American democracy. Vouchers attempt to disestablish not only public education, but the entire public realm. They divert public money away from the vast majority of public-school students — in most cases, the students who need it the most.

[added emphasis mine]

http://atheism.about.com/b/2004/01/13/dennis-kucinich-on-churchstate-separation.htm

 "This is the modest view of an atheist. By atheist, I do not imply any antagonism toward religion or faith, but only the lack of supernatural belief within my mind."

"In any event, Kucinich was gracious enough to spend a few moments speaking with Tucker.

The result left me impressed with the Presidential hopeful and has reaffirmed (for me) Tucker's amphibious qualifications "

http://bpabbott.blogspot.com/2007/11/dennis-kucinich-tucker-carlson.html

 "Though I am an atheist who strongly feels that religion has highly contributed to the sad state of the US, I can’t help but think that if Christian America had any common sense left, it would recognize in Kucinich the leader that it, as a country, truly needs."

 http://loadedpen.com/2007/11/24/who-would-jesus-vote-for/

}