A few Soapbox
articles from the 1996 Presidential campaign.
It's Too Late!
March 30, 1996
Dear Mr. Clinton:
I've been listening to you lately talk about education
and welfare reform lately. These sound like really good
ideas.
Unfortunately, Mr. Dole already has the Republican
nomination locked up.
Sincerely,
Keyes Locked Out
March 4, 1996
One of the benefits of living in Iowa
is that we get to meet all the presidential
candidates. Even Arlen Specter (sp?) showed up a couple
times. As a result, I think we listen more and earlier
than the rest of the country. A candidate has more time
to get his message to Iowans. One beneficiary of this
characteristic of Iowa politics was Alan Keyes.
If you haven't heard Alan Keyes speak, you haven't
heard what this election is about. He believes America's
problems are primarily moral not fiscal. He
is a student of the Declaration of Independence, the
Constitution, and of American history. Virtually every
statement he makes is loaded with careful consideration
of all of the issues.
Alan Keyes is an African American. In my opinion, he
speaks for more of the true needs of the black community
than Jesse Jackson or Louis Farrakahn.
Why haven't you heard of Keyes? Or perhaps, why didn't
you hear about him until his recent attempt to simply be
seated at a debate in Atlanta where he was handcuffed
and taken by police for a twenty-minute ride then dropped
in a parking lot? Because there's a little secret
that the Mainstream Media doesn't want you to know, and
the "leading" candidates can't afford to tell
you:
Alan Keyes wins
In Linn County, Iowa, where Keyes campaigned strongly,
he lost to Bob Dole by three votes. Did you hear
that on the national news? No. In every Iowa county where
Keyes campaigned, he came in first or second.
In every debate involving all the candidates,
Keyes has been declared "the winner" by at
least one of the various polls conducted by the news
media.
But Alan Keyes is black, conservative, and runs on
a morality-based agenda. The liberal media has
already decided they don't want him to win. CNN could
have forced WSB-TV in Atlanta to allow Keyes to
participate. Even our local TV station refused to run the
story that a back-of-the-pack candidate beat Forbes,
Buchanan and Alexander in our county.
Alan Keyes has committed himself to sticking with this
race. Dornen, Lugar and Taylor are no longer traveling
and campaigning. Keyes is. Yet he is being refused access
to the people by the press.
The TV station in Atlanta argued that they only wanted
the front-runners in the debate.
How can you have four "front-runners" in a
five-man race?
A Strange Feeling
February 17, 1996
Craig Rairdin fell asleep watching Bob
Dole on CSPAN last night. He's not sure what happened,
but he has a feeling that Bob Dole speech has affected
him in some way. Craig Rairdin doesn't know what
happened, but Craig Rairdin knows Craig Rairdin doesn't
like it.
Craig Rairdin learned something else about Bob
Dole: Nobody ever listens to him. So far nobody gets this
joke so I'll have to explain it: Mr. Dole always talks
about himself in third-person; as if he's not there. Get
it? Boy, it's not nearly as funny now.
Steve Forbes and Negative Ads
February 16, 1996
Dear Mr. Forbes:
USA Today yesterday (Feb 15) said you attributed your
loss in Iowa to backlash against negative ads. I feel
this explanation is in error.
Truth is, your ads helped us learn more about your
competitors. Thanks.
Unfortunately, we don't really like your ideas. Or
should I say "idea".
Sincerely,
President Clinton and Technology in Schools
February 15, 1996
Dear Mr. Clinton:
Caught your photo-op on CNN today. Nice hair.
The problem in America's schools is not that children
don't have access to computers, it's that they
can't spell "computer."
Sincerely,