Endorsing an Associated Students of Seattle Pacific (ASSP) presidential candidate seems like a job for a political savant with an eye toward agendas and platforms, someone who knows what candidates stand for and their reasons for running.

At the Falcon, it's a job for the editorial staff, which takes the time to put objective thought into its decision.

I, on the other hand, have no political qualifications, vote in an alternating yes/no fashion on city propositions, and attended Rock the Vote for the sole purpose of getting a root beer float.

So, for an intellectual type, an endorsement coming from me is pretty much entirely pointless.

Fortunately, no intellectual types read this column.

By contrast, my readers are sports-crazed enthusiasts, family members and friends who hope to get mentioned by name. In their eyes, an endorsement from me could make all the difference.

Every now and then, my journalism education and guilt prompt me to interview people for this column. This week, I asked questions of the two presidential candidates: Chris Sharpe and Chris Bristol. I asked them the questions over e-mail partly to give them time to answer and partly because I didn't want to explain my two-and-a-half minute stay at Rock the Vote.

Both candidates were asked several sports questions on such topics as the NCAA title game and the NBA playoffs. Their answers, much like their first names, were remarkably similar.

I started them off with some easy questions about this year's Masters, the NCAA tournament and Indy 500 before getting into the more challenging ones about the NFL Draft and Major League Baseball.

The one stumper that caught both of them was to name four players on the Kansas City Royals. Neither of them did so, which can only lead me to assume that we will be without a Royals day for yet another year (by comparison, I was able to name five current Royals players, two former ones, a Cleveland Indian and a contestant on the Apprentice).

A question about NFL scoring proved to be Bristol's undoing. When asked to list three different ways to score 23 points in the NFL, Bristol claimed that two touchdowns, two extra points and a safety would reach that magic number. Unfortunately, touchdowns are not worth nine-and-a-half points each or else he would have been on to something.

A potential need for math lab aside, should poor addition cost Bristol an endorsement? Of course not. I'm only petty when it comes to arguing quiz points in elective classes.

I really just want to have the candidate who I feel is most qualified for the job, according to my own predetermined qualifications. These qualifications, while seemingly random and narrow, are based on things that I wish I could have had in my years at SPU.

Our next ASSP president must have a strong sports IQ.

He must be in favor of a "Bo Jackson: 1985-1992" USEM class.

He must propose a measure that would fund an SPU football team.

And he must nominate me for alumni of the year every year consecutively until I am chosen.

Realizing that my vote only counts for one as opposed to the two-and-a-half votes that I hear the school of business senator gets, I would understand if the candidates did not bend to my every wish. In fact, I won't even be at school here next year, so common sense and the ASSP office secretary whom I spoke to yesterday tell me that my opinion hardly even matters.

But I know my right to vote affords me the chance to elect the man I feel will best represent me and my ideas.

That is why I'm basing this year's presidential endorsement on the most important qualification of all: he must be able to spell my name right.

In our email conversations, Chris Sharpe did. Chris Bristol did not.

So students of SPU, when you hit the polls tomorrow, vote for Chris Sharpe. He is a voice for the alternately-spelled, in addition to being a sports fan.