To the editor:

As our political elections approach, I thought it might be helpful to share the voting guidelines that have developed within me over nearly six decades of faithful voting.

• I prefer to vote for the most competent candidate.

• I prefer candidates who place the common good above ideology.

• I like candidates who limit their terms in office.

• I like candidates who practice critical thinking.

• I am predisposed to vote for candidates who practice bipartisanship.

• I am particularly prone to vote for moderates who practice common sense.

• know, gentle readers, that we will be lucky to discern even four or five of these guidelines in a candidate. Still, I suspect you can guess who I will be voting for on Nov. 4. And if you were to follow my guidelines over the next four or five major elections, maybe, just maybe, we could see our local, state and national governments of our beloved country responding much better to the real needs of our people. May it be so!