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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2008
RALLY FOR THE REPUBLIC
Students of Liberty meet congressional inspiration
Former Student Senate coalition leaders interview Ron Paul
BY FRANCESCA CHAMBERS fcambers@kansan.com
MINNEAPOLIS — Adam
Wood stood calmly in the base-
MIN. POLIS Wood stood calmly ment hall of the Target Center for an hour and a half as he waited his turn in line to meet Rep. Ron Paul (R.Texas)
Wood, Lawrence senior, was ecstatic, but his demeanor
@ KANSAN.COM
See multimedia coverage of the rally at kansan.com.
Speakers at the Rally included former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura and MSNBC correspondent Tucker Carlson. County music star Sara Evans also performed at
showed no signs of the adrenaline flowing through his veins.
Wood, who coordinated Paul's campaign on campus and in Douglas County, had campaigned for the former presidential candidate across the country and shook hands with him once, but this was the first time Wood would have one-on-one time with Paul.
Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), left, granted Eric Haley, center and Adam Wood, leaders of a defunct Senate Senate coalition, a short, private interview during Paula's Rally For The Republic in Minneapolis, Wood campaigned extensively for Paul during his presidential run.
the event.
Wood is here this week for Rally For the Republic — the counter convention that Paul created after he was denied a speech at the official convention.
Wood was allotted a five-minute interview with Paul because he knew campaign coordinators at the
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
rallv.
While in Line to meet Paul, Wood was interviewed by several media outlets, including The Economist, all of them asking him how he felt about this once-in-a lifetime opportunity. Wood just laughed, though, brushing off his five minutes of fame.
"What am I going to do? Have a heart attack or something?" he said.
McCain or Barack Obama could to unify the third-party voters.
During the private interview, Wood asked Paul what people who did not want to vote for Sens. John
Wood said the alternative vote was divided among Libertarian candidate Bob Barr, Constitution Party candidate Chuck Baldwin and Independent candidate Ralph Nader.
Paul said Wood was missing the point of these candidates' campaigns. He told Wood to stop worrying about trying to consolidate the parties and focus on maximizing the number of people who were not voting for McCain or Obama.
"If they go in different directions, as far as political action, that's not as bad as if they start accepting bad ideas," Paul said.
Wood said Paul's answers were helpful because they weren't vague like a typical politician's answer.
"When people ask him questions, he answers them. That's what's so crazy." Wood said.
Wood said his meeting with Paul differed from his meeting with Barr hours before. He said
Barr pointed him to his Midwest campaign coordinator instead of thanking him.
But Wood said he would still vote for Barr despite the generic politician treatment.
"I understand what he's doing and that he's shaking people's hands," Wood said. "You don't vote for the wood. You vote for the
Wood said he thought he might have another chance to meet Paul in the future, but he probably would not work with the Paul campaign again because he felt the movement was not achieving anything.
Former KU student Eric Hydre accompanied Wood on his trip to
Minnesota.
Wood and Hyde are best known at the University for their campaign in last spring's Student Senate election. The two ran for student body president and vice president as part of the Students of Liberty coalition.
Edited by Lauren Keith
REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION
McCain, Palin praised at Obama's expense
BY DAVID ESPO ASSOCIATED PRESS
face of fresh controversv.
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Republicans assailed Barack Obama as the most liberal, least experienced White House nominee in history Tuesday night as President Bush led a convention chorus of praise for GOP candidate John McCain. Delegates rallied behind vice presidential running mate Sarah Palin in the
"God only made one John McCain, and he is his own man," declared Sen. Joseph Lieberman, the 2000 Democratic presidential nominee, awarded a prime-time turn at the Republicans' convention podium.
The convention hall resounded with boos when Lieberman said the Democratic presidential candidate voted to cut off funding "for our
troops on the ground" in Iraq last year.
And again when former Sen. Fred Thompson scoffed at the 47-year-old Illinois senator, who is seeking to become the first black president.
"Democrats present a history-making nominee for president. History-making in that he is the most liberal, most inexperienced nominee ever to run for president,"
Thompson said as delegates roared their agreement.
Thompson and Lieberman both cast Palin as a political maverick in the McCain mold.
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U. S. Senator Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., waves as he touches the podium at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., on Tuesday.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jessie Adriane
Sarah Hoffman
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Bush, an unpopular president relegated to a minor role at the convention, reprised the national security themes that propelled him to a second term as he spoke — briefly, by satellite from the White House. "We need a president who understands the lessons of Sept. 11, 2001," he said. "That to protect America, we must stay on offense, stop attacks before they happen and not wait to be hit again." The man we need is John McCain.
who are attacking her and her family"
Thompson delivered a strong defense of Palin. He said the Alaska governor, was "from a small town, with small town values, but that's not good enough for those folks
He said McCain's decision to place her on the ticket "has the other side and their friends in the media in a state of panic."
Other Republicans — delegates
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and luminaries alike — also defended Palin, who disclosed on Monday that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is pregnant. In addition, a lawyer has been hired to represent the governor in an ethics-related controversy back home in Alaska.
"I haven't seen anything that comes out about her that in any way troubles me or shakes my confidence in her," said former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who ran unsuccessfully for the party's presidential nomination this year.
Conservatives, slow to warm to McCain even after he climbed the nomination last spring, were particularly supportive.
"The reports I'm getting back is that every time they show that footage we get 1,000 precinct walkers from the NRA," he told members of his state's delegation, to laughter. "She cuts taxes and shoots moose. That's Gov. Palin." Nehring said.
"All it has done for me is say she is a human person with a real family."
Thompson jabbed at Obama on abortion, as well.
And Ron Nehring, chairman of the California state party, said video footage of Palin on a firing range was helping her cause.
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