The voters

are really confusing me.

On one hand,

not nearly enough people go to the polls when the time comes, as evidenced

across the United States. On the other hand, after seeing how the votes

are tallied in some races, I wonder why some people even bother.

Take two primaries

in California earlier this week, for example. I'm fairly certain you've

heard about one of them (you may be sick of it by now), but the other

might be under your radar screen.

Much of the

country was probably thrilled to hear that Gary Condit's career in the

U.S. House of Representatives is likely finished after this year. He was

soundly beaten in the Democratic primary race for his 18th District seat

Some media

reports called it a landslide, with Cardoza getting some 63 percent of

thevote. That's certainly a wide margin of victory, but am I the only

one troubled by the fact that 37 percent voted for Condit? Amazing.

Cardoza pulled

off this victory without even campaigning. According to the local media

in northern California, he skipped a dozen debates and spent much of his

time in Sacramento, which I suppose is where he should be as a state legislator.

Meanwhile, Condit campaigned his rear end off.

But Cardoza,

whose name shouldn't even be known outside of his home state, had the

national media doing his work for him, pounding on Condit concerning the

Chandra Levy disappearance and Condit's own evasiveness during the investigation.

Condit didn't help his own cause much by making himself look even worse

every time he stepped in front of a microphone, refusing to be forthright

concerning his relationship with Levy.

A lot of people

thought Condit was crazy to even run for reelection, but he obviously

had a better read on the voters than most. It also helped that the country

has gone to war in the past six months and put his scandal on the back

burner as far as the national news is concerned.

So who votes

for Gary Condit after everything that has been uncovered about him in

the past year? Maybe the same people who vote for a judge ( a judge! )

under arrest for child pornography.

This is the

one you might not have heard about. According to the Associated Press,

a Superior Court judge in southern California facing a federal child pornography

charge and accused of child molestation garnered the most votes out of

a field of 12 in his bid for reelection Tuesday, forcing a runoff.

Judge Ronald

Kline has had a difficult time campaigning, since he is under house arrest

and has to wear an ankle monitor. He was indicted in November after an

Internet watchdog group tipped off authorities that he was downloading

child pornography.

As with many

judicial elections, Kline would have been unopposed except for his arrest.

He was indicted the day before the deadline for filing candidacy papers,

so his name was the only one on the ballot. But a large group of challengers

surfaced and ran as write-in candidates.

Court records

indicate that federal agents seized computers at Kline's home and found

more than 100 pornographic images taken from various Web sites. Investigators

also claim to have found a computer diary in which the judge allegedly

talks about a sexual attraction to a 13-year-old boy, according to press

reports. Since his indictment, an alleged victim has come forward and

said that Kline sexually abused him in the 1970s.

Kline denies

all of the charges and has pleaded innocent. He has been on paid leave

since November, pending the outcome of the case.

I'm all for

the presumption of innocence until proven guilty for every citizen. But

anyone under the public trust as a congressman or a judge has no business

running for office in this kind of situation.

Ironically,

Condit might have kept his seat if he had come right out and said that

he had an affair with Levy. If he had done so at the beginning and cooperated

fully, he would likely be in the clear by now, provided he really had

nothing to do with her disappearance. The American public has proven in

recent years that sexual indiscretions, even when betraying the trust

of a spouse, are often meaningless.

As for Kline,

who can imagine him ever sitting on the bench again, especially right

now? Apparently a few thousand people. They, along with the Condit supporters,

showed their lack of judgment at the polls Tuesday when they pulled the

lever for him.

[Monroe Roark

can be reached at [email protected] .]