Cox tests Iowa presidential waters

By PAT KINNEY, Waterloo Courier Business Editor

Oct. 16, 2006

WATERLOO, IOWA - John Cox is a far cry from President Jimmy Carter politically, but they have one thing in common: They ran for president as political unknowns.

Carter, the one-time Georgia governor, was relatively unknown when he ran for president in 1976. Cox, separated from the former president by 30 years and one whole political spectrum, is starting the same journey.

In fact, Cox, a Chicago businessman and former chairman of the Cook County Republican Party, is the first formally announced Republican candidate for president.

Cox was in Waterloo recently campaigning for incumbent Black Hawk County Supervisor Leon Mosley. He is on what he calls his "Manchester to Manchester" tour -- Manchester, Iowa, to Manchester, N.H.

"I'm in tune with Ronald Reagan, and a social conservative as well as a fiscal conservative," said Cox, who has two children attending Loras College in Dubuque.

Cox suggests he has more political experience than some other Republican contenders of years past, such as Morry Taylor and Steve Forbes, since the Cook County Republican party that he chaired has 1.5 to 2 million members. He also worked for former U.S. Rep. and HUD Secretary Jack Kemp's 1988 presidential campaign.

He emphasizes free enterprise in foreign and domestic policy.

"The big thing people are most concerned about is the war on terrorism and the troops in Iraq," Cox said. "I want to get the troops home as soon as I can, with a job well done. And I think that would happen a lot faster if we got Iraq's economy doing better."

Iraq is "sitting on a sea of oil," Cox said, but its petroleum industry is only operating at 30 percent of capacity. He would deploy U.S. troops to guard oil facilities as the Iraqis revived their oil industry for their own prosperity.

"I believe prosperity is a wonderful antidote to the radical Islamic fundamentalists and the radical fascists," he said.

On immigration, he said the U.S. should build a fence around major urban areas where illegal immigration is heaviest and encourage employers and immigrants alike to "play by the rules," possibly by utilizing a scanned, verifiable identification card.

Cox, whose campaign information talks about how he saved a Chicago-area potato chip company, favors more private competition and freedom of choice in health care, and reining in malpractice litigation.

Cox praised Mosley and fellow incumbent Republican supervisor Robert Smith as "good watchdogs of the county's money."

He is airing ads in Iowa on Fox News Channel and political talk shows. His Website is www.Cox2008.com.

Contact Pat Kinney at (319) 291-1484 or pat.kinney@wcfcourier.com.