Moderation in most things is one of my mottoes, and I include the Carnahans in that. I never vote for more than one of them in any given election.

They are, I think, a nice bunch of people, and at one time or another, I have voted for most of them. In Mel's case, I did so a couple of times. I also supported Jean over John Ashcroft — that was almost like supporting Mel a third time — but then I turned on her and voted for Jim Talent when she ran for re-election.

So my record is spotty. Still, I have voted for the Carnahans more than I have voted against them.

But one Carnahan per election. That is my rule.

Twice I have had to choose between Robin and her brother, Russ. In 2004 and again in 2008, Robin ran for Missouri secretary of state and Russ ran for Congress.

Now I face the same thing again. Robin is running for the U.S. Senate and Russ is running for re-election to the House.

Which one should I vote for? I was undecided until recently.

I mention I am moderate in most things. I remember when Rush Limbaugh wanted to buy part of the Rams and some people objected because he had said, among other things, that NFL games "all too often look like games between the Bloods and the Crips." Remember how I tried to broker a deal? I suggested he be allowed to buy part of the team but could own only a few of the white players.

Like I said, I'm a moderate.

But not about our freedoms. I'm radical about them.

Even religious freedom. I say "even" because I'm not a very religious person. But my beliefs aside, I think religious freedom is an important part of this country.

That's why I am in the minority that supports the idea of an Islamic center in Lower Manhattan on private property a couple of blocks from the site of the Twin Towers.

Frankly, I have little sympathy for the politicians who say they understand that the Muslims have a constitutional right to build a center — or even a mosque — but don't think they should. Or the president, who acknowledges that Muslims have the right to build a center — or even a mosque — but won't say whether he supports the building of such.

If they have the right, they have the right. Period. Otherwise, what good is a right?

It's as if you were to tell gun owners that you acknowledge their right to own guns, but you think they should voluntarily disarm.

Some of the opponents of the Islamic center say that as long as Christians can't build a church in Mecca, Muslims should not be allowed to build a mosque in Lower Manhattan. I don't understand that. We shouldn't emulate intolerance.

If you want to be pragmatic rather than moral about it, it still makes sense to support the center. We are at war with people who adhere to a violent strain of Islam, and we ought to do what we can to encourage moderates. Opposing an Islamic center plays into the hands of our enemies.

Perhaps you wonder what this has to do with the Carnahans.

Neither seems to have a strong stance on the issue, but Robin seems the most squeamish. She said, "Just because you can build it — and they can — doesn't mean they should."

But it is the attitude of their opponents that I have most noticed. Roy Blunt is running against Robin Carnahan. He has suggested that the site of the World Trade Center is like a battlefield, and he has pointed out that the federal government has a history of protecting battlefields.

That seems like a stretch to me, but again, I am in the minority on this issue.

Ed Martin is running against Russ Carnahan. Martin gave this statement to the paper: "Those who seek to erect a victory monument in New York where our fellow citizens were immolated and crushed by a profoundly wicked strain of Islam do not deserve the cloak of religious freedom that our peaceful Muslim neighbors enjoy and to which they are entitled. I absolutely oppose the so-called mosque at ground zero and believe those who are patting themselves on the back as paragons of religious liberty are either deeply naive or incredibly cynical."

A victory monument? In what has been a very acrimonious debate, the term "victory mosque" or "victory monument" has been the most incendiary. It suggests that the mosque or center is intended to celebrate the events of 9/11.

That kind of suggestion does little more than gin up hate, and to me, comes very close to religious bigotry. That's good news for Roy Blunt. I only vote for one Carnahan per election.