Let the Campaign Begin? 2008 Presidential Candidate Makes Stop in Forest City

Posted Online 30 May 2006
By Bob Fenske Of The Summit

Britt News-Tribune

FOREST CITY – John Cox cut to the chase as the Illinois Republican talked about his desire to be president of the United States.

“The CBS cameras aren't following me around,” he said with a laugh. “I'm the darkhorse, the underdog, the shot in the dark and whatever else you can come up with.”

But as Cox made stops throughout North Iowa last week – touting his conservative views in places like Forest City, Garner, Osage and Mason City – he remained undaunted. By the end of last week, he had visited 86 of Iowa's 99 counties, and he vows he will be the first candidate to visit each and every county.

“Iowa is a proving ground,” he said, “and because, quite frankly, no one knows me, that's why I am here 20 months before the Iowa caucuses.”

At many of his stops, the businessman showed off a quick sense of humor. In Osage, he told a story about his young daughter asking him if every fairy tale begins with the words “once upon a time.”

“I thought about that for a bit, and I said, 'No honey, some start with “if elected, I promise.”'”

But his message was fairly straightforward. Cox calls himself a Reagan Republican, and he took issue with Democrats and Republicans alike. He talked about the number of potential GOP candidates and said the difference between them and him is that “I have a mission while they look at this as the next rung on the political ladder.”

But he said he supported many of President Bush's policies – including the war in Iraq. “I'm so thankful that we have the president we do in the White House and not President Gore or President Kerry. ... I'd much rather be fighting the terrorists over there than here.”

But he lashed out at the president's amnesty program for illegal immigrants, contending that there were 6 million people around the world on a waiting list to legally enter the country. Cox, who is a certified public accountant by trade, also vowed to simplify the nation's tax code and “get rid of the IRS once and for all.”

He pushed sales of his book “Politic$ Inc.,” which he says he is using, in part, to fund his long-shot campaign. But he said despite the challenges that come from being a no-name candidate, his campaign is grounded in reality. He pointed out that few voters knew the name Jimmy Carter before he won the Iowa caucuses in 1976.

And he said grassroots politics, along with the power of the Internet, make him a contender.

“I just didn't roll out of bed one day and decide I wanted to run for president,” he said. “We need a political leader who can make tough decisions, not career politicians who are just looking at the White House as the next logical step.”