Presidential Heroes

I have many heroes I look up to. Most of them have certain traits in common: ingenuity, strength of character, and most of all courage.

On that list of heroes, only two were ever President of the United States: George Washington (the original G-dubya) and Thomas Jefferson.

I just added two more to that list, both of which are candidates for president this election. Nope, not G-W Bush. John Kerry? Nuh uh, not him either.

My new heroes are Michael Badnarik (Libertarian) and David Cobb (Green).

Why? Because they both chose to take a stand when they knew they were right: even knowing that the consequence would be their arrest.

Obviously, I already liked Michael Badnarik. He is, after all, the Libertarian presidential candidate and is quite likeable in his own right anyway. However, up to this point, I wasn't really sparked by his campaign. I mean, he spouted the usual rhetoric you expect from a Libertarian presidential candidate, though he did have some interesting ways to say some things (making you think, which is a nice change in itself). However, now he's shown he is also a man of ACTION and GUTS too.

David Cobb I can't say as many nice things for. I don't agree with the Green Party position or platform. However, Cobb has shown that he's not just some tree hugger who wants to socialize the world with big talk. He's a man of ACTION and GUTS too.

I like men of ACTION who have GUTS.

There aren't many in the alternative political parties anymore. We seem to have a lot of people who'll talk big and a lot more people who're willing to nit-pick away at things, but very few who will march in protest (even when the cops say it's "illegal"), very few who will leave their assigned "free speech zone" and protest where they please, and even fewer who will purposefully step outside the "law" and get arrested because they know the law is wrong.

Michael Badnarik and David Cobb did all those things.

On October 8, there were some televised presidential debates between John Kerry and George Bush in St. Louis, MO. In a combined effort, the Libertarian Party, the Green Party, and several other groups had instigated a lawsuit against the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD)--Michael Badnarik had an Order to Show Cause in his jacket pocket at the time of his arrest.

During those debates, in protest of their exclusion from them, both Michael Badnarik and David Cobb approached the police guards (arrayed in full riot gear). They intended to deliver their Order to Show Cause to CPD officials (who had refused to receive it earlier that day at their offices). The police advised the two candidates that they would not be allowed to enter and to attempt to force their way in would mean arrest.

Undaunted, the two did just that: they forced their way through the police barricade (no violence was instigated, they merely crossed the line and pressed forward until confronted). Once through the police line, they were peacefully arrested and taken to jail.

Both Cobb and Badnarik (along with candidates from the Constitution Party, the Communist Party, the Socialist Workers Party, and others) have participated in open, non-scripted debates with one another throughout their campaigns. The same cannot be said of G-Dubya or Kerry.

To stand forth and do what is right takes GUTS. To know the consequences and do it anyway takes COURAGE. To do what is right when you have GUTS and you have COURAGE makes you a man of ACTION.

Can any of the other presidential candidates (no matter their party affiliation) really say that they are anything more than a lot of talk? I have seen no proof of this from any of them. I now have proof that Badnarik and Cobb do have GUTS and COURAGE and are willing to take ACTION.

Who will you vote for? The blow hard, or the man of action?

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