[J.P.’s Moment of Common Sense on Broad View, KBZZ 1270 AM and 96.1 FM in Reno. Listen live Saturdays at 2:00 PM Pacific Time.]

They say birds of a feather flock together and they also say you can judge a man’s character by who his friends are so doesn’t it seem fair to judge a presidential candidate by who endorses him?

Comparing Barack Obama’s endorsements to Mitt Romney’s is eye-opening.  It’s like comparing Darth Vader to Obi-Wan Kenobi.  People who hate politics, hate election years, and hate reading about the various complicated issues because reading interferes with American Idol and watching football on TV, need look no further than the cast of characters lined up in support of the current president.  Obama’s endorsements tell you everything you need to know.

On January 29, 2002, George W. Bush gave a State of the Union address in which he coined the term “Axis of Evil.”  At the time, according to Bush, the Axis of Evil comprised North Korea, Iran, and Iraq.  Since then, of course, the leadership of Iraq has been replaced, breaking up the original Axis of Evil, yet people still use the term.  So which nations are in the club now?

Iran and North Korea still belong, certainly; Russia is resurgent and its ill-will toward the United States “reset”; Venezuela is ruled by a loud-mouth anti-American dictator running sham elections to make himself appear legitimate (like every other communist leader in history); and we should probably throw Cuba into the club because no despots have been more evil than the Castro family, who’ve kept their boots on the Cuban neck for over half a century.

That’s five countries in the reformulated Axis of Evil, all of them busy threatening the U.S., supporting terrorism financially and physically, and even sharing nuclear bomb technology.  Here’s the punch line: all five of those countries have endorsed the re-election of Barack Obama.  Why is that?

Meanwhile, although foreign leaders seldom endorse the challenger in a presidential election, Polish Solidarity hero Lech Walesa said this to Mitt Romney in July:

“I wish you to be successful because this success is needed to the United States, of course, but to Europe and the rest of the world, too.  Governor Romney, get your success, be successful!”

Now that’s an endorsement.  If you’re keeping score, it’s five nasty, brutish, thug-ruled countries that support terrorism coming out for Obama, and the man who led Poland to freedom from the Soviet Union waxing passionate about Mitt Romney.

Kinda makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

Candidates don’t control who endorses them and no doubt Mr. Obama wishes Hugo Chavez and the Castro family would keep their mouths shut, but we need to be asking ourselves why—why do the bad people like Obama?

We don’t have to look outside our own borders.  Sleazy, vulgar, profane celebrities are lined up around the block to support Obama.  Eva Longoria recently tweeted this about Romney: “You have to be stupid to vote for such a racist/misogynistic twat.”  Classy, eh?  And Ms. Longoria isn’t just some random celebrity, she’s co-chair of Obama’s re-election campaign.

Speaking of sleazy celebrities, the Los Angeles porn industry endorses Obama so let’s factor that into our voting decision, okay?  If you like porn, vote for Obama.  Not only does he have the endorsement of the porn industry, he has all the rappers on his side... or is that redundant?  On a more positive note (I guess), the president was endorsed by Honey Boo Boo this week.  (She’s probably hoping for a White House dinner invitation.  That little girl does like to eat.)

Romney has a few celebrity endorsements but some of them are mock-endorsements.  Porn actress Jenna Jamison, for instance, pretended to endorse Mitt by saying, “He’s the only person who’s assumed more positions than I have,” and “Mitt Romney will do to all of America what I have already done to half of America.”  Sacha Baron Cohen gave another tongue-in-cheek endorsement by suggesting Romney will make a great dictator.

As for political endorsements, Romney gets well-wishes from people like Donald Trump, Lee Iacocca, George W. Bush, Ross Perot, and his female Lieutenant Governor in Massachusetts, Kerry Healey, who points out that of the twenty top positions in Romney’s administration, ten of them were filled by women.  (So much for that “war on women” Democrats keep bleating about.)  Obama, by comparison, was endorsed by the Communist Party USA, the American Socialist Party, the Occu-pooper movement that’s been protesting Wall Street for over a year now, and Charlie Crist, the sleazy political opportunist who used to be governor of Florida.

Remember, you judge a man by his friends.

How about the military?  Current members of the military don’t endorse candidates but the Obama campaign is trumpeting endorsements by six former military officers.  But if you look closely, one of those six is Wesley Clark, a former Democrat candidate for president, and another one is John Nathman, co-chair of the Obama re-election campaign.  Meanwhile, Romney’s been endorsed by 359 former flag officers.  “Flag officer” means they were generals or admirals.  359 of them for Romney versus 6 for Obama.  Again, we need to be asking ourselves why.

Hopefully that score—359 to 6—reflects the way the election will go.

That’s... today’s dose of common sense.

“The endorsement process is an evolution.  What you try to do is you endorse someone that you believe in and their ideas and their solutions align with yours.” —Herman Cain

“My opponent called me a cream puff.  Well, I rushed out and got the baker’s union to endorse me.” —Claiborne Pell

“Getting the support of Syria is the moral equivalent of winning the Klan’s endorsement—it might be useful but it doesn’t necessarily speak well of you.” —Jonah Goldberg

“The one endorsement that makes the most difference is from the constituents in the district.” —Sandy Adams

From Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA        Tweet

October 20, 2012 - Yes, I considered that too, but in the end I thought they should be included. Like in your article, we are talking about the ones in charge of the government, not the citizens as a whole. And when you consider China's deliberate currency manipulation, and the fact that they hack into our computer systems and steal technology and other forms of intelligence, well, THAT is active aggression against our country, in my humble opinion. It's a way to force us into economic slavery. No shots fired. – DRB, North Carolina

J.P. replies: Okay, okay, you're right, China should be part of the Axis of Evil.  But then the piece would have been longer than 5 minutes...

October 20, 2012 - I'll bet the New Black Panthers endorsed him too. – Brad T., Las Vegas

October 20, 2012 - Don't forget China; Obama has their endorsement too. – DRB, North Carolina

J.P. replies: I was undecided about including Red China in the Axis of Evil.  The communist regime is definitely evil but Chinese people as a general rule seem more interested in doing business than starting wars.

October 20, 2012 - Nicely put. I wish more Americans would reflect on what it means to have the good wishes of Hugo Chavez and Raul Castro -- as well as the significance of the hail of vulgar denunciations and outright threats that have rained on Romney and his supporters by those who prefer Obama. – Francis P., New York