.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} Ron Paul’s all-time favorite movie is “The Sound of Music,” so he’s out. We don’t need a president engaged in high-stakes international negotiations with “Edelweiss” running through his head, which is exactly how Richard Nixon lost South Vietnam.

Also not too sure about Sam Brownback, who named “Star Wars” as his top pick. Ten bucks says he does the Darth Vader heavy-breathing thing if he ever gets on the phone with Vladimir Putin.

I gained these insights by reading the program from the Republican candidates’ debate at Drake University. Talk about cutting through the chatter. This document includes information we average voters can relate to: “last book read,” “favorite movie,” “favorite food.” The kind of details that put the “dumb” back in democracy.

We certainly do need to filter out a few candidates. We’ve slogged through months of campaigning, and the field of presidential hopefuls remains about as exclusive as a list of McDonald’s customers. So let’s take a stroll down this avenue.

Tom Tancredo and Mike Huckabee boldly claim “Casablanca” as their favorite movie, which is like saying your favorite life-sustaining gas is oxygen. Come on, guys. We’re looking for someone who stands out from the crowd. If I need somebody who likes “Casablanca,” I can grab the next person who walks out of the Video Warehouse on Merle Hay Road.

The two do diverge when it comes to literature. Huckabee last read “The Language of God,” written by Francis Collins, who is both a devout Christian and a leader of the Human Genome Project. Tancredo recently read “The Enemy at Home,” in which the author “notes that American conservatives have more in common with Islamic fundamentalists than with American liberals,” according to a review.

So if you’re torn between these two, but you really like scariness in a candidate, Tancredo might be your man.

John McCain says his favorite movie is “Viva Zapata!” the story of an armed man on horseback rebelling against an oppressive dictator. Right about now, that probably strikes McCain as a much better way to attain power than speaking to 30 people at a time in small-town diners.

Duncan Hunter clearly is dreaming about the good old days before civilization messed everything up. His top book is “Trails Plowed Under: Stories of the Old West” and his favorite movie is “The Quiet Man,” in which John Wayne gets to exchange punches with an Irishman and drag Maureen O’Hara across the countryside, all without charges being filed.

Tommy Thompson likes “The South Beach Heart Program: The 4-Step Program That Can Save Your Life” and steak. Connections, Tommy, look for connections.

Rudy Giuliani favors “The Godfather,” which no doubt reminds him of when he was a prosecutor flinging bad guys into prison. He’s also fond of a book written by Nicolas Sarkozy, the new president of France. Reading the thoughts of a man you might deal with in the future? Radical. Give Giuliani two points.

However, I think Mitt Romney wins this match-up despite his lackluster food choices. (When guy like Romney dreams about meatloaf cakes and turkey sandwiches, it makes the rest of us wonder: What’s the point of getting rich?)

His favorite movie is “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” Why does liking this movie make him a strong candidate for president of the United States? Because I like it too, that’s why.

It’s called democracy in action.