User:Citizen/interview

While nearly all coverage of the 2008 Presidential election has focused on the Democratic and Republican candidates, the race for the White House also includes independents and third party candidates. These parties represent a variety of views that may not be acknowledged by the major party platforms.

Wikinews has impartially reached out to these candidates, throughout the campaign. We now interview independent Presidential candidate William Harrison running as Uga Man.

Interview

Why do you want to be President?

I want to be president because I feel it is necessary for the nation to be run by the people, not two political parties. The people are concerned about the costs of education, transportation and the sanitation of our habitat. The two political parties have ignored these issues altogether, and the result is a dissatisfaction with the government. I am a realist and I know that I will not win but I hope to influence the debate to force the political parties to focus on the pertinent issues.

Have you ever run for political office before? Have you ever been a member of a political party? Have you ever campaigned for another political candidate?

No I have never ran for a political office, although I did run for adminship on wikipedia. I have never officially been a member of a politicial party although I have always liked the Reform Party. I never have campaigned for a political candidate but I have supported numerous candidates. In 1996 I supported Ross Perot for president, and I supported the presidential campaigns of Ralph Nader in 2000 and 2004.

What is your current job? What skills or ideas do you bring from this position, or previous positions, that will benefit the Oval Office?

I am a trash collector for my community. I am always in contact with people and their garbage and I enjoy helping out to clean up my city. From this position I bring the people skills required to negotiate with foreign nations as individuals are very passionate about the service they receive. I understand the difficulties and hardships that are associated with being in a blue-collar profession. I know how to clean up messes and I feel are nation is involved in a lot of messes therefore I will clean up our nation's messes. I have more experience in the field of waste management than any other candidate in the history of presidential politics, this is an important topic whose significance increases as our population increases.

Why run as a write-in candidate? Why not become an independent, registered with the FEC

I don't want to be bound to the regulations of the FEC and I am forced to run as an write-in since I do not meet the age requirements needed to be president.

Obviously, the next American President and his or her administration will face many diverse issues. But if you were to narrow identify the three most important issues, what would they be? How will you address these issues?

Transportation - I would begin a public works project using the funds from the welfare system to build a highway strictly for use by commericial vehicles. This would help commerce become more efficient and would make the highways for the average citizen safer. As the economy slows providing employment is kep to helping our economy get back on track, a public works project is the best way to provide for this.

Education - I would federalize the NBA under the department of Health and Human Services. I would expand the number of teams, which could be bought and sold by corporations, and divide them into geographic "sectors" where teams could only draft, sign and trade players who attended colleges and universities in their area. This would increase funding for colleges and universities from corporations looking to improve talent, a spillover benefit from the additional funds would be lowered tuition costs for the average student.

Foreign policy - I would keep our alliances strong and promote fair trade with other nations. I feel we can improve our diplomatic relations with other nations by expanding the NBA into these nations. The NBA will give them reason to keep good relations with America and would promote global peace. This is what he need to bring into Iraq. Give those people a basketball and a hoop and I guarantee they'll stop fighting in the battlefield and they'll bring that competitive sprit onto the court. Basketball promotes peace among people.

Campaigning for the American presidency is one of the most expensive exercises in the world. How do you deal with the cost and fundraising?

I use the funds I get from the trash. Seriously though, I talk to people while I collect their trash and I spread my message about my vision for America. Usually they give me only $1 or $5 but that adds up and it funds my campaign sufficiently.

Do you have a running mate yet? Who are they? What are you/were you looking for in a running mate?

Jimbo Wales is my running mate. I asked him for confirmation but it kept being removed from his talk page. I feel a running mate should be somebody that is outside of politics, and has the real world and entreprenurial experience to run the nation as president. Jimbo Wales had a vision when he created Wikipedia and I want a visionary as my running mate.

Can you win the 2008 Presidential election? Can any third party, independent, or write-in candidate ever win?

No, with the power of the two party system it would be very difficult for this pattern to be broken. 1992 was a close break but it wasn't big enough. What it takes is for a political climate where the candidates of the two parties are strongly disliked, I really believed Michael Bloomberg had a chance to win but Obama is not strongly disliked by the public, although Hillary is, but regardless of that the Republican nominee is well respected by individuals from all public spectras. So as it stands right now, I see no way for a third party candidate to win this election.

If you can't make it into the Oval Office, who would you prefer seeing taking the presidency?

I'd like to see Ralph Nader become president but we know this will never happen. I want somebody who is bipartisan and is able and willing to work across the aisle. I don't think that would be Hillary Clinton and I don't see any history of bipartisanship from Barack Obama, so who does that leave?

What should the American people keep in mind, when heading to the polls this November?

They should think about what they really want in a leader. They should think about what they really care about in their life and in this nation. Then they should vote for the candidate that will solve the most pressing issues and will bring forth the necessary leadership.