Michael Charles Smith
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Michael Charles Smith (born August 1961) is a candidate for the Republican Party nomination for the United States presidential election of 2008. He is from the state of Oregon.
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[edit] Personal background
Smith was born in August 1961 in Illinois. He attended the University of Illinois for a few years, before joining the Air Force in 1985. While in the service he was trained as a Russian linguist. Smith left the Air Force in 1992 and returned to Illinois. He served as village trustee for the small town of Garrett, Illinois from 1993 to 1994. In 1996, Smith and his family relocated to the state of Oregon. He has since earned a bachelor's degree from Oregon State University and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from Willamette University. Smith lives in Corvallis with his wife and children; he is currently an employee of Hewlett-Packard.
[edit] Presidential campaign
Smith filed papers with the Federal Election Commission in March 2006, making him an official candidate for the 2008 presidential election. He formally announced his run for office on Saturday, May 20, 2006, at a fund-raising dance in Corvallis. He is only the second Republican to definitively declare a candidacy for the 2008 presidential election, after John H. Cox of Illinois.
A self-described "zealous moderate"[1], he feels the Republican party has drifted too far to the right, and has spent too much energy on controversial issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage. His platform aims to cut party ties to the religious right, and return to what he considers traditional Republican values, such as small government, individual liberties, and fiscal conservatism. Smith supports major tax reform based on the ideals of simplicity, fairness, and freedom which he believes are embodied in the FairTax Act.[2]
About the current state of the Republican Party, Smith has said: "I'm disillusioned and frustrated that most of the voices that seem to dominate the discussion in the party I'm aligned with in principle are on the far social and religious right, and I don't hear much at all from the party on fiscal issues or taxes. The party creed talks about smaller government and individual responsibility and liberties, but much of the activism from the social right seems to step on those principles."[3]
Smith is unknown outside of Oregon, and has no previous experience in political office. This makes his candidacy an extreme long-shot in the highly anticipated run-up to the primaries, with such Republican heavyweights as John McCain and Rudy Giuliani speculated to run. Smith acknowledges the difficulty his campaign faces, saying, "I'm not delusional enough to have my bags packed and be planning on changing my address to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue."[4] Smith's goal is to win enough votes in the 2008 Oregon primary to take a delegate to the Republican National Convention, so he can deliver his message of traditional Republicanism to the party leadership.
[edit] Trivia
Smith is an avid tuba player, and currently plays with the Corvallis Community Band.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Mr. Smith dreams of Washington" by Bennett Hall for the Corvallis Gazette-Times, 1 April 2006. Retrieved May 25, 2006.
- ^ Platform - Taxation Michael Smith's Views
- ^ "Life After Bush Could Be Difficult For 2008 Republican Candidates" by Scott Shepard for the Cox News Service, 16 April 2006. Retrieved May 25, 2006.
- ^ "Mr. Smith dreams of Washington" by Bennett Hall for the Corvallis Gazette-Times, 1 April 2006. Retrieved May 25, 2006.
