On Tuesday, county voters will be asked to choose the

On Tuesday, county voters will be asked to choose the next president of the United States. There has been widespread lamenting this fall that the choice is bleak — that neither major party has fielded a credible candidate. Last week, we agreed with those sentiments and declined to endorse either Vice President George Bush or Governor Michael Dukakis. But there are other choices. There is Libertarian Party candidate Dr. Ron Paul. There is Sen. Eugene McCarthy, a Rappahannock resident, who is also running as an independent. And there is “Electoral Reform,” endorsed by this newspaper last week. The important point, we want to make clear, is that registered voters exercise their right. It is the fundamental cornerstone of our democracy. And, although the complaints about our choices have been frequent, loud and long, the fact remains that one of the two major candidates will, on Nov. 8, be elected the 41st President of the United States. So, for those still undecided, or apathetic about voting next Tuesday, we offer the following examples of the importance of the ballot. It was sent to Ann Landers by an election judge from Missouri, who had copied it from his judge’s manual. In 1645, one vote gave Oliver Cromwell control of England. In 1649, one vote caus* * Chirles I of England to be executed. In 1776, one vote gave America the English language — instead of German. In 1845, one vote brought Texas into the Union. In 1868, one vote saved President Andrew Johnson from impeachment. In 1876, one vote gave Rutherford B. Hayes the presidency of the United States. In 1923, one vote gave Adolph Hitler leadership of the Nazi party in Germany. In 1941, one vote saved the Selective Service system from abolition —just weeks before Pearl Harbor. We urge our fellow county residents to vote next Tuesday.