The 44-year-old Corvallis resident has a wife and two kids, a house and a mortgage, and a job at Hewlett-Packard.
He plays the tuba in the community band.
Oh, and there’s one more thing:
He’s running for president. As in president of the United States.
Some talking points:
Fiscal Conservative – Limited Federal Government within a Balanced Budget
I support a balanced budget with changes to current tax structures.
* Only those federal functions specifically mandated by the US Constitution should be funded.
* Federal taxes and spending should be reduced in favor of local control of taxes and services.
* Income taxes should be abolished and replaced with Consumption (Sales) taxes.
Social Libertarian – Individual Responsibility with Minimal Governmental Intrusion
The government should stay out of the private lives of consenting adults.
* Abortion hinges on individual belief regarding the inception of life. The government shouldn’t make policy on matters of belief.
* Drug use should be de-felonized.
* Creationism and “intelligent design” are beliefs, not science.
* Gay marriage is no threat to the social fabric.
Parent – Education, Healthcare, and Economic Opportunity Now and for Our Children
My children are doing well in the Oregon school system, but too many resources are spent on administration and compliance issues.
* We must find appropriate ways to ensure educational opportunity for all our children.
* Health Care is a crippling burden for many Americans and inhibits the economy. We need to reduce health care costs.
Pro States’/Local Rights – The Government that Governs Best Governs Locally
The federal government has encroached into many issues not specified by the constitution.
* Assisted Suicide is a matter of states’ rights.
* The federal government coerced states to raise the drinking age by threatening to withhold highway funds. An 18 year old can vote, join the military, have an abortion, and ought to be able to drink a beer.
Veteran – Honor Our Military by Raising the Threshold for Foreign Intervention
OSU Grad! Gotta love it. Go Beaves! Here come baseball season, right around the corner.
Smith is unknown outside of Oregon, and has no previous experience in political office. This makes his candidacy an extreme long-shot in the highly anticipated run-up to the primaries, with such Republican heavyweights as John McCain and Rudy Giuliani speculated to run. Smith acknowledges the difficulty his campaign faces, saying, “I’m not delusional enough to have my bags packed and be planning on changing my address to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.”[1] Smith’s goal is to win enough votes in the 2008 Oregon primary to become a delegate to the Republican National Convention, so he can deliver his message of traditional Republicanism to the party leadership
From Wikipedia, the memory of the internet generation:
Thomas James Vilsack (born December 13, 1950) is an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party, and served as the 40th Governor of the state of Iowa. He was first elected in 1998 and re-elected to a second four-year term in 2002. On November 30, 2006, he formally launched his candidacy for the Democratic Party’s nomination for President of the United States in the 2008 election.
Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Tom Vilsack was orphaned at birth and placed in a Roman Catholic orphanage.
While at Hamilton College he joined The Delta Upsilon Fraternity.
Oops I joined the wrong frat.
He received a J.D. in 1975 from Albany Law School.
Tom Vilsack was elected mayor of Mount Pleasant, Iowa in 1987, following the murder of mayor Ed King by a disgruntled citizen.
That one is just strange.
He helped pass a law for workers to receive health coverage when changing jobs, and helped re-design Iowa’s Workforce Development Department. He also wrote a bill to have the State of Iowa assume a 50% share of local county mental health costs.
Health care. A good Democratic base. Good early move.
When going governor:
Vilsack narrowly won the general election — making it the first time in 30 years that a Democrat was elected Governor of Iowa.
In July 2005, Vilsack signed an executive order allowing all felons who had served their sentences to vote again.
legislative session, Vilsack signed into law greater restrictions that require products containing the active ingredient pseudoephedrine to be sold behind pharmacy counters, as opposed to open-access at open-shelf level. Those wishing to buy such products must show identification and sign a log book. The new law, designed to reduce methamphetamine use in Iowa, took effect on May 21, 2005.
This is good news for the Pacific Northwest.
Vilsack’s stance on the war in Iraq is politically moderate, both critical of President Bush but hesitant for immediate and complete pullout: “I don’t think we’re losing in Iraq, It appears to be a draw. People are upset by the fact that their kids are over there and there doesn’t seem to be any end to this whole process. It’s not pacifism that makes people think this way. They’re questioning the credibility and competence of the Commander-in-Chief.”[4]
On December 5th, Vilsack announced that he favored withdrawing most of the U.S. forces from Iraq and leaving a small force in the Northern region for a limited period.
On December 18th, on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Vilsack said “We have created a culture of dependency in Iraq; we would do them and us a service by severing that link and letting them take control of their country.”[6]
Vilsack’s campaign is making significant use of social media by maintaining an active MySpace profile, a collection of viral video clips on YouTube, a Facebook profile and a videoblog on blip.tv.
I’m an orphan. You can’t give up. You cant. Maybe, because I live on Main Street.
And Tom… please don’t ever say “I’m comfortable being an underdog” like that again.
He’s kinda like a dad. He wants to work with us hip internet types. I can’t find his contact info anywhere. He should have a screen name, not a standard web application form.
Aha! On the facebook profile, an email:
Some flicker highlights!
I go to meetings!
And talk real straight!
nterests: Running Half and Full Marathons, Pittsburgh Steelers & Pirates, Cooking, Reading History – Political and Presidential, BBQ ‘s with my family, Hunting, Movies
Favorite TV Shows: ESPN Sports Center, Boston Legal, Family Guy, CSI Miami
Favorite Movies: Silverado, Magnificent Seven, Godfather Parts I & II, One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, The Titans
Even Vilsack hates Godfather III!
Well… now we know a bit more about him. Stay tuned.
I came across this mentioned in an article in this morning’s Wall Street Journal while waiting for my teapot to start doing its thing. I’m out of coffee!
It’s not quite the Office mixed with Clerks-like pacing and production, with a dash of that Jim Carry movie where he was God. I’m not too sure what to think yet.
It gets a little better in the second episode. You start to wonder, if God had an office…?
I find there is no real plot, or reason to keep watching. But, I do. It’s jokes like Margarita Monday that work.
Again pointless… but they guy who runs “sort-of Christians” is pretty clever.
I am going to share something with you that will likely cause you some surprise about your own mind. Now if we could just figure out how to work the VCR! Try reading the following. If you can’t, don’t be alarmed. It has more to do with the way a person reads than reading skills or intelligence. Check it out:
fi yuo cna raed tihs, yuo hvae a sgtrane mnid too
Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.
i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno’t mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it whotuit a pboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!
Neat. Every week I get an update from this particular city administrator and I love them. There is always two or three story ideas and a fun bit of random fact.
Thing I miss about Portland: German Class. Thing I don’t miss about Portland: Loosing all my change to the Homeless… I just can’t help giving it all away.
