And just when the race to the White House couldn’t get any more ridiculously over-crowded …
Two-time presidential primary loser Alan Keyes has decided that he’s going to make a run for the Republican nomination. The anti-choice isolationist advocate of a national sales tax, who has called separation of church and state “a misinterpretation of the Constitution,” is running on his conservative background and his time on Ronald Reagan‘s staff as Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations. Presumably he won’t be talking much about his failed presidential runs in 1996 and 2000. Or getting wiped out in two Maryland US Senate races (38% in 1988 and 29% in 1992). Or getting bludgeoned in 2004 in the US Senate race in Illinois by Barack Obama, who took the seat with a 43% margin. Still, sixth time’s the charm.
There had previously been an attempt to draft Keyes onto the ballot by a group called We Need Alan Keyes for President – an organization endorsed by, amongst others, Alan Keyes (which kind of defies the object of a draft campaign.)
He’ll be making his first official appearance as a GOP hopeful tonight at the Values Voter Presidential Debate in Ft. Lauderdale tonight. He’ll be joining fellow primary candidates Duncan Hunter, Mike Huckabee, Tom Tancredo, Sam Brownback, Ron Paul, and John Cox – none of whom has yet to crack 5% in a major national opinion poll.
This article appears in September 14 • 2007.
