Ever felt that your chosen candidate could stand a touch more humility and a tad less of an over polished public sheen? Even if he doesn’t know enough to stay away from "the purple berries?" Imagine a world where Ralph Wiggum just might have his finger on the red button in this episode of the Simpsons, "E Pluribus Wiggum"!

Kredit Kookies: Blackboard Gag: "Teacher did not pay too much for her condo." Couch Gag: a story is told through a medieval scroll; the Flanders (or their ancestors) steal the Simpsons’ couch – the Simpsons take it back and slaughter them in response.

We open on Homer cruising down the main drag of Springfield where he’s unfortunately reminded of his upcoming diet thanks to a call from Marge (Bart’s jokes about Homer’s having his own gravitational pull seems to come from a true place). Deciding to enjoy one last spree on Springfield’s Fast Food Boulevard, Homer speeds around the block to the tune of Duran Duran’s "Hungry Like The Wolf," indulging at such restaurants as Krusty Burger and Lard Lad Doughnuts. Satiated, he empties out his trash – everything from fast food wrappers to car batteries – in the Krusty Burger’s outside receptacle. As he pulls away, he tosses a lit match from the window of his car, which ignites a fire that causes the gas mains connecting the restaurants of Fast Food Boulevard to explode, destroying the entire complex.

Cut to a town hall meeting. Mayor Quimby tries to comfort Cheesy McMayor while listening to angry demands from the citizenry to rebuild the destroyed complex. A bond measure is suggested, but that requires a town election – Quimby bumps the next election from November up to the upcoming weekend, resulting in Springfield being the first city in the nation to vote in the presidential primary.

Cut to Dan Rather interviewing a couple of folksy New Hampshirians about their primary – the second he finds out Springfield will beat New Hampshire to he polls, he and the other reporters embark en masses for the small town. Jon Stewart and Krusty the Klown have an amusing tiff when Krusty tries to siphon jokes from Jon for his own use.

Soon, Springfieldians sicken of the election and of the candidates, who have flooded the town and are campaigning like fiends for their votes. One day Lisa sees Bill Clinton hammering "Hillary ‘08" signs into lawns on her street, and when he discovers the Simpsons are the only undecided voters left in Springfield the candidates converge on her family’s lawn.

A furious Homer calls a meeting of his own with Springfield’s citizenry as election day looms.

Homer suggests that the townspeople vote for the most ridiculous candidate they can think of to empty the town (and the Simpsons’ lawn) of interlopers.

When Kent Brockman announces the winner it’s…Ralph Wiggum. To everyone’s dismay, the press takes Ralph’s victory seriously, to the increasing frustration of Lisa. When Ralph announces that he has no idea which party he supports, both major political parties pursue his endorsement after holding meetings - The Republican committee having met in their Doctor Strangelovian think tank, the Democrats around a tiny table at a "Trader Earth" supermarket.

A disgusted Lisa heads to Ralph’s house to convince him to drop out, at the same moment

Adriatica Viljohnson (the Democrat’s rep, and a parody of Arianna Huffington) and The Rich Texan burst through his front door to request his support. Shooing them outside, Lisa finally confronts Ralph, who announces that he actually knows what he’s doing – and he wants to use his unexpected victory to create peace. Lisa is impressed, and ultimately Ralph is supported by both parties. The episode concludes with a commercial for Ralph’s candidacy, featuring a logo in which a donkey and an elephant are kissing.

What an amusing, inventive episode! A perfect skewering of political morals in this country, it nails down the frenzy and the fire of an election without losing humor. It manages to be bipartisan in its skewering, and even inspiring as the message encourages voters to use their own minds this election without leaning on party politics of any sort. Lots of good, pitch-perfect jokes, decent and not overwhelming usage of Homer, and wonderful usage of Ralph make it worth watching. He’s the best thing in the episode – pitch perfect, naive and moronic without being irritating. Lisa – his one-time girlfriend, as stated in a nice callback – is her wonderful righteous self without descending into hyper-adulthood. Nice voice cameos by Dan Rather and Jon Stewart that don’t hijack the episode are also a plus.

My big criticism is that we never do find out if the bond passes for the restoration of Fast Food Boulevard - this being Springfield, though, it's safe to assume that it did.

As I started in my Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind recap, this was the last episode in recent memory to get an 8.1 in overnights, starting a slow downward spiral the show thus far hasn’t been able to pull out of. It’s a shame, because this one was solid and is worthy of more eyeballs than it received.

The next episode will be "Apocalypse Cow", set to air April twenty-seventh. Be sure to check back on the twenty-eighth for a full recap!