DF: Hello and welcome. I am David Frost, and tonight I will be interviewing Thomas Walker, presidential nominee of the Abolition Party at Our Campaigns. Tonight hopefully you and I will learn a little more about Walker, what makes him tick, and ascertain what type of leader he would be at Our Campaigns. Welcome, Mr. Walker.
TW: Thank you, Mr. Frost, it is an honor to be here.
DF: Let's start off by asking you, why are you running for President at Our Campaigns?
TW: I am running because I believe that I am the best candidate for the job. I have the vision, drive, leadership and direction to best help Our Campaigns grow and thrive during the next four months.
DF: And your opponents do not offer this?
TW: Not to the same extent that I do. David, there are many strong candidates this time. If I were not running, the choice would be a difficult one, but I believe I offer and will deliver more.
DF: Let us focus on your opponents. First, Republican Scott Mattson.
TW: Scott is a good person. Washington state should be proud of him. Republicans should be proud of him. I can easily see him becoming Washington's Secretary of State some day. However, we are dealing with here and now. Scott is too strongly partisan a Republican for my blood. The President of Our Campaigns represents ALL members of our community, not just one party. I doubt his ticket will be nearly as partisan as the one that tapped him for Vice President last time; I just feel our President needs to be totally inclusive.
DF: Bob Heaney?
TW: Bob has done a lot here at Our Campaigns. He has been very active and a very uplifting member of our community. I honestly think he would be best suited to run for Vice President this time out, and President in August. Bob has served well as Secretary of State at Our Campaigns, but this may prove to be an area of weakness, an achilles heel as it were. For whatever reason, Bob provoked the ire of some members, and survived a recall challenge. We need a unifier, not a divider.
DF: Matthew Easton?
TW: I have the utmost respect for Matthew. Here is a young man with his head screwed on straight. He reminds me of John Edwards, in that he is a likeable youth from the South offering new leadership. Would our site benefit most with Matthew as President? I would rather see Matthew as the global ambassador for Our Campaigns. He has enriched our site too much in the International area to lose some of the attention he devotes to that important area for the next four months.
DF: John Haring?
TW: I will be honest, I do not know much about John. His campaign partying in Texas seemed rather unpresidential. Also, I do not see the Likud Party as one that can unify and uplift our site. John is a great person and a great asset to our community. I just do not feel he offers the leadership needed most at this time. Also, I have heard rumors the Portland area Chamber of Commerce is funding an anti-Haring campaign.
DF: Dave Trotter?
TW: Dave is a cool guy. So was Spuds McKenzie. I think Dave will be too preoccupied to give Our Campaigns the attention needed. He just dealt with a Vice Presidential controversy, where Frank Lautenberg originally beat his personal choice by one vote. If his own party disagrees with him, or has such problems tabulating the votes, what will happen when Dave leads Our Campaigns? Plus, I believe he will be too busy preparing his house for the Prick of the Year and Preacher of the Year awards, which will be given there at the end of the year. Also, I feel we haven't heard the last of that sheep farmer yet.
DF: Dave Jones?
TW: Dave was a godsend to my campaign. He gives us geographic balance. His military experience will add special leadership and insight. He and I will join Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin as the only winning tickets to have been born in the same year. He, as I, has been registered as a Republican and a Democrat, and is registered with a third party at Our Campaigns. He strongly cares about our environment and our future. Dave has more experience at Our Campaigns than myself, Scott, Bob, Matthew, John, Dave, or our current President. Dave provides the leadership and integrity we need.
DF: What are the first general election votes you ever cast?
TW: President - Lenora Fulani. Governor - James Rhodes. Senators - John Glenn and Howard Metzenbaum. U S House - Chalmers P Wylie.
DF: If you could change one vote, what would it be?
TW: I would not have voted for Tony Celebrezze for Governor of Ohio in 1990.
DF: Conversely, what candidate do you wish you HAD voted for, but didn't?
TW: Charles Edward Pollock for Columbus Ohio Board of Education in 1991. There were 5 good candidates running for 4 seats, and I personally told the other 4 that I would vote for them.
DF: What about the Drew Pritt issue?
TW: I do not believe in banning members. I will never personally "Ignore" another member, however, I have no problem with those who use this feature, if it makes their time at Our Campaigns more enjoyable. I wish Drew would tone down some of his releases - he has a lot of people here who do not like him, and these just fan the flames of discontent.
Those who dislike Drew are not forced to respond to his statements, and often have inadvertantly contributed to turning a minor disagreement into a soap opera.
Drew also received many complaints about vote totals entered. As President, if Drew will agree to put the candidates, votes and source in a comment, I will pledge to put the figures in, once verified, as I am sure others here will join me in doing as well.
Drew is not the devil personified. I believe he is a decent person. I have no problems with him personally, and offer him the above mentioned olive branch, although I know the offer will cost me votes.
DF: Recently, your campaign went out and bought an actual domain name. Wake up, this is not a real election!
TW: I know the election isn't real, but it affects real people. Domain names don't cost what they used to. For the price of one movie ticket, you can buy a domain name for a year. Our campaigns deserves the best. Our page, www.walker-jones.org, has all of our campaign news stories, as well as links to all of our opponents. We want to inform, and provide all options.
DF: Do you plan to run in any future elections here at Our Campaigns?
TW: Not right now. After serving as President for the next four months, it will be time to step back from campaigning for a while. If, somehow, I do not win this election, I will not run for President in August 2004. I would consider a run for Vice President in the future if I made no other commitments at the time, if it were the right candidate, and the right time. As of right now, I would say this campaign is it for me as a candidate.
DF: Who do you admire most?
TW: My parents, and my deceased Aunt Louise. She is the toughest person I ever knew. Try and be a 23 year old female in 1934, lose your best friend, father and grandmother in the same year, and have to go to work to support your mother and ten year old sister.
DF: Celebrity wise.
TW: Lillian Gish, Charlie Chaplin, Charles Lindbergh, Jane Addams, Bob LaFollette, William Jennings Bryan, Marcus Garvey and James Meredith. Also, I believe that Bettie Page was the person of the century for the 20th century.
DF: If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
TW: Tennessee.
DF: We are almost out of time already this hour. One final question. What are your plans for the near future?
TW: Obviously, I plan to continue this Presidential campaign, and serve as President for four months. I also am planning for twin daughters, who are due at any time between now and April 15. I also plan to be applying at work for a job in Fresno - which probably won't be filled until September at the earliest (they seem to not want to let me move, for some reason). Finally, I plan to celebrate and live life to the fullest.
