John Anderson, Michael Dukakis and
Jerry Brown:
Where They Landed
John Anderson spends nine months out of year
as the President and CEO of the World Federalist
Association in Washington, DC and three months as a
professor of Constitutional Law at Nova Southeast
University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He also presides
over the Center for Voting and Democracy, a non-profit
organization committed to reforming campaign
laws.
John has no regrets from running his
campaign in 1980. Running as an independent allowed him
an opportunity to present his belief that what the
United States truly needs is “policy based on common
sense.” The message must have rung true: many people the
author spoke to about the Anderson Campaign proudly told
him that their very first vote was for John
Anderson.
Many supporters from that campaign,
plus a few who were not old enough to remember it,
gathered together via the Internet to form “Draft
Anderson for President.” Led by Daniel
Johnson-Weinberger (National Coordinator for the Center
for Voting and Democracy), this group pressed for
Anderson’s nomination by the Reform Party by contacting
newspapers, writing article for the Internet and
soliciting pledges for contributions. With the disarray
in the Reform Party, John decided not to seek the
nomination and instead made commentary in the media from
time to time about the race. He eventually endorsed
Ralph Nader in the 2000 Election.
Michael
Dukakis works most of his year at Northeastern
University teaching political science. During the winter
months, he serves as a guest political science professor
at the University of California at Los Angeles. He is
also the acting chair of Amtrak and frequently discusses
the virtues of public transportation.
Mike,
despite his bitter loss to George Bush in the 1988
presidential election, does not blame other people for
it. He takes full responsibility for not responding
sooner to Bush’s attacks and presenting a solid case to
the voters as to why they should vote for
him.
During the 2000 Campaign, he endorsed and
campaigned for Al Gore, particularly during the
all-important New Hampshire Primary. He frequently
appeared on television political talk shows to discuss
his thoughts about the election. Mike also made an
appearance at the Democratic Convention in Los Angeles
in the summer of 2000.
Jerry Brown serves
as the Mayor of Oakland, California. Despite his
abandonment of the Democratic Party in favor of
independent status, he endorsed Al Gore for
President.
The author is grateful to John and
Mike for their time and contributions of ideas to this
book. He could not reach Mayor Brown for his
input.
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