the usual paucity of disagreement on issues that actually affect our lives so often leads to fellow members of same parties differentiating themselves over character, financial and other usually extraneous issues.

I would say that in contests for executive office I do think character is much more important and legitimately raised, but not so much for legislators that vote yea or nay on written laws that all can read and judge them on.

For these reasons, back when I ran and lost a county council race and when I managed two winning campaigns for another for Congress, I did not participate in the one contested primary except on issues and turnout.

That said, I must say that i don’t hold Hawkins’ contributions to Cleland against him, and I am one that defends Chambliss’s ad against Cleland’s union vote against homeland security (although I do think it would have been better not to put OBL’s pic in the ad.)

I know Max Cleland, Met him at Dem Party meetings in Atlanta in 2000 while I was still a Dem.and I don’t like him. He is a very bitter and angry man (was before the loss to Chambliss) and he, along with the post-civil rights poverty pimp crowd in ATL helped to push me to the GOP.

But I also understand how one can give money to people one knows in the same town/area and it is usually a gesture of friendship, respect, etc in these types of cases. Many give to both candidates.

Plus, in Cleland’s case, it could be justified by respect for his service, as well as sympathy for his wounds and suffering.

I would think that the differences between Graves and Hawkins on spending would suffice to justify a vote for Graves and suspect that Graves may a have a skeleton in his closet worse than a vote for Cleland.