Today while I was writing one of my articles at the DP office, a fellow beat reporter came into the newsroom and told me that there was someone in the front office looking for a political reporter. A little confused, I followed him into the main office, and he pointed out a man waiting by the door.
I was still a little confused. It’s not often that we get people actually coming into the office with news tips, and this is the first time anyone has asked specifically for a political reporter (that I know of, anyway).
Then, the man proceeded to introduce himself. His name was Ed O’Donnell, and told me he’s running for President of the United States. He handed me a press release, asking me to pass it on to whoever was writing about Sen. Clinton’s speech in Houston Hall today. He said that his comments would make a great side note in the article on Clinton’s speech about the economy.
Basically, his press release talked about the fact that he felt none of the candidates in this election are good enough. He’s running for President because he wants to put his plans — elimination of guns in the US, withdrawal of Iraq troops and mandatory mental health education being just a few — into action.
He said that if I wanted more information about him, to look for him online. “I don’t have a website or anything, “he said, “but you can do a Google search on me.” He mentioned that a publication at Dartmouth had written about him a few years ago, and I could read through that.
Then he asked to use the DP’s phone. I deferred this question to someone else and thought this would be a good time to make my exit.
According to an article in the Dartmouth Free Press, a liberal/progressive biweekly at Dartmouth University, his 2004 presidential bid was his sixth — so the 2008 election is now his seventh time running for president.
A few highlights from the Free Press interview:
O’Donnell: Well, if I were President of the United States, I would call a constitutional convention in Williamsburg, Virginia; it’s a very inspiring place. One hundred private citizens, two from each state-I’m not sure how we’d choose them but we have to make sure that they are average citizens-that would have had nothing to do with the political parties. Nothing. We have to start fresh, and I would want a good number of those 100 to be milk men and garbage men and maids and waitresses. We don’t want it to be an academic elitist group.
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Free Press: But you’re against the press….
O’Donnell: I’m their number one enemy and they know it.
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(The full text of the interview, which was published in 2003, can be found at http://www.dartmouth.edu/~thepress/read.php?id=452).
O’Donnell’s visit to the DP was certainly entertaining — and basically made my day. On a more serious note, however, he made me think more about third party candidates in the election. When I hear the phrase, “third party candidate,” I automatically think of Ralph Nader, who is a Presidential election veteran. Apparently Nader isn’t the only third party candidate, though — meeting O’Donnell makes me wonder how many others there are like him.
Tags: , other candidates
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