ELECTION 2012 A pair of socialists: No real choice Once a high-level Reagan-era diplomat, Alan Keyes is a long-time leader in the conservative movement. He is well-known as a staunch pro-life champion and an eloquent advocate of the constitutional republic, including respect for the moral basis of liberty and self-government. He has worked to promote an approach to politics based on the initiative of citizens of goodwill consonant with the with the principles of God-endowed natural right. More ? Less ? Since Wednesday night, and for obvious reasons, a thought much like that otherwise expressed by Ralph Waldo Emerson has been going through my mind: "What you have done speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say." Of course, the truth is that making a sound judgment about what someone says, even when we can hear it clearly, requires that we consider what they have done and what they say in light of a standard that may or may not be reflected in either. These days, especially in our politics, we are constantly being invited to forget that aspect of judgment. It's like buying a car in a town with only one dealership and no access to anything like a CARFAX report. We're given no option but to listen to the different sales patters and choose accordingly. I cannot accept this stunted version of electoral choice. I invariably find myself comparing what this one or that one says to what reasonably ought to be said in light of