Absurdity

Some of the voting machines in Virginia can't fit James Webb's name in the space to identify him so they simply identify him as "James H. 'Jim'."

U.S. Senate candidate James Webb's last name has been cut off on part of the electronic ballot used by voters in Alexandria, Falls Church and Charlottesville because of a computer glitch that also affects other candidates with long names, city officials said yesterday.

Although the problem creates some voter confusion, it will not cause votes to be cast incorrectly, election officials emphasized. The error shows up only on the summary page, where voters are asked to review their selections before hitting the button to cast their votes. Webb's full name appears on the page where voters choose for whom to vote.

Election officials attribute the mistake to an increase in the type size on the ballot. Although the larger type is easier to read, it also unintentionally shortens the longer names on the summary page of the ballot.

Thus, Democratic candidate Webb will appear with his first name and nickname only -- or "James H. 'Jim' " -- on summary pages in Alexandria, Falls Church and Charlottesville, the only jurisdictions in Virginia that use balloting machines manufactured by Hart InterCivic of Austin.

Now, will somebody explain to me why James H. Webb doesn't fit but George F. Allen does? As I count it James H. Webb has 13 letters and spaces, George F. Allen has 15 letters and spaces. It seems to me that 15 is usually larger than 13.

Furthermore, since when is James H. Webb a LONG name? Heck, both the first and the last name are single syllables. What would have happened to the following people if they had to get their names on the Virginia ballot?

Dwight David Eisenhower (23 characters)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (24 characters)
Lyndon Baines Johnson (21 characters)
George Washington (18 characters)