For the primary election, I told you afterwards who I voted for, and I had requests this time to make recommendations in advance, on the assumption, I guess, that my 43 years as a political writer makes me more knowledgeable on the issues and quality of the candidates.

In some cases, maybe, but, just like you, I have anticipated the election of some promising candidates who turned out to be, in the prevailing phrase these days, all hat and no cattle.

So I will not recommend anybody, although I will tell you who and what I am voting for, expecting to win about half of my picks.

I voted for George W. Bush’s re-election because I believe he will defend this country against her enemies, covert and overt. John Kerry talks about all the plans he has but he revealed his goal the other day when he said, “You’re not just voting for the president of the United States, you’re voting for the leader of the free world.” I believe John Kerry is running to be leader of the free world, hence his talk of summits and alliances. He wants to be the first global president, a kind of Kofi Annan among the world’s leaders. Annan’s troops cut and ran from Iraq when the first bomb went off in their vicinity. Kerry lit out for home after four months of the year he signed up for.

Washington, the only state named after a president, once was distinguished as the home of some of the nation’s most brilliant U.S., Senators, Magnuson, Jackson, Gorton, Evans, Adams, and we have sunk with Patty Murray to her being the repeat winner of the “no rocket scientist” title. I voted for George Nethercutt. He may not be brilliant but he’s closer, a lot closer, to being a rocket scientist than Murray, who was dubbed by the Weekly Standard as our “drab liberal.”

I expect all incumbent congress members to be re-elected though I didn’t vote for my own, Jay Inslee, who aspires to higher things so does more prancing around out of his 1st district than in. I didn’t care who the Republican was, I voted for him.

Same goes for the Legislature. It’s important to have Republican control if we ever want to ease the regulatory hammerlock Democrats have allowed on small business and achieve tort reform.. D’s don’t mind giving huge tax breaks to the big ones like Boeing and Microsoft, who fatten their campaign chests, but they view small business as an enemy, not labor’s working partner.

I voted for Dino Rossi for governor because putting Christine Gregoire in that job means a continuation of labor’s hold on state government. Gary Locke, who promised labor he’d do what it wanted, put union officials in top jobs regulating business.. Quote Gregoire to labor, “You will always have a voice in every decision I make.” No wonder we’re known as the Left Coast.

I voted for all other state official incumbents and Rob McKenna for attorney general. Deborah Senn royally screwed up health care insurance as that commissioner, so why risk her as AG? I’m not crazy about Terry Bergeson as superintendent of public instruction but if the Washington Education Assn. wants to get rid of her, she must be doing something right.

For the two open supreme court seats, I voted for Jim Johnson and Richard Sanders. Johnson wrote Initiative 747, cutting from 6 percent to 1 percent how much local government budgets can be raised each year. Sanders, like Johnson, is a follower of the constitution.

As for the ballot measures, I voted no on the top two primary, which I think would create more chaos and controversy than the one we have now. I said no to a one cent sales tax increase for education which has had all kinds of money thrown at it with little improvement to show for it Charter schools are worth trying. I voted to allow non tribal casinos to have the same gambling machines the Indian tribes do since the tribes don’t pay taxes on their revenues but the non-tribal ones would pay fees that would be used to reduce property taxes. I’m uncertain about the initiative concerning hazardous waste but if former Congressman Sid Morrison thinks it’s unnecessary, that’s good enough for me.

(Adele Ferguson can be reached at P.O. Box 69, Hansville, WA., 98340.).