Can Hackett hack it?

I just LOVE this guy. He's smart, he's got cojones, he does not suffer fools gladly, and as a bonus, he's hotter'n a two dollar pistol.

Paul Hackett is going to be a real test of whether Americans REALLY want a no-bullshit kind of guy, or whether they only give honesty lip service but really want dissemblers who tell them that the sky is green. Yes, Mr. Bush, I'm talking about guys like YOU.

A sample of the wit and wisdom of the reality-based Mr. Hackett (for the rest, go to Salon and get a day pass):

Q: In your congressional race, your opponent praised your service but said she thought you should "support our president" with regard to the war. What do you say to people who fault you for criticizing a war you volunteered to fight?

A:This is the United States and freedom of speech and freedom of political dissent are what make this country great. I served and I'm entitled to speak my mind. I back the president to the extent that I was willing to fight in his war -- and I did it voluntarily and happily, and I'd do it again.

Q: Let's talk about the so-called moral values issues that you say spurred you to run for Congress last summer. You were upset about what you called Republican grandstanding on Terri Schiavo, abortion and gay marriage.

A: Why are these the No. 1 issues in the United States when we've got an economy which is in even more dire danger of reaching rock bottom than it was when I embarked on the congressional race? Frankly, these social issues are simple and straightforward. I'll be happy to take each one individually. Gay marriage and gay rights: I'm fond of saying, "Who cares?" The debate is about whether or not American men and women can walk into a courthouse and get equal treatment under the law regardless of their sexual preference. Anything less than that is un-American.

Q: And the right-wing uproar over Terri Schiavo?

A: Outrageous. Absolutely outrageous. And most Americans agree with that. The only Americans that don't are religious fanatics. They've got more in common with Osama bin Laden than I've got with them.

Q: You sound like someone who could be held up as a liberal champion. Still, your position on guns is probably upsetting to doctrinaire liberals. How do you reconcile your position on gay marriage and gun control?

A: I don't need Washington, D.C., or the government in my private life. Period. I don't need them to dictate to my wife the decisions she can make with a doctor. I don't need a Washington politician to tell my neighbors what they can do in the privacy of their bedroom. And I don't need Washington politicians to tell me what guns to keep in my gun safe.

And this one's for Barry N. Johnson:

Q: What do you think of the drug war as it's been "fought" for the last 30 years? What would you do differently to deal with the drug problem?

A: Obviously the drug war is not working. With many Republican and Democratic administrations their solution is to build more prisons and put more people in jail. I'm not comfortable saying legalize it, but I think there needs to be an honest discussion about providing money to educate people and to treat people who have an addiction. Many Americans ask why we have to get touchy-feely about this. Well, I'll tell you why: because we're spending billions and billions of dollars to warehouse people in jail, and that ain't workin'.

Damn. I promised myself I wouldn't let anyone do this to me again. OK, I'm weak. I admit it.

If you're swooning too, hit the ActBlue button in the sidebar, then click the little box next to Mr. Hackett's name and toss his campaign some cash. He's going to need it in what could be a brutal primary contest with an entrenched Washington insider.