Washington D.C. – August 19, 2011, Gary Johnson was the guest speaker at the National Press Club luncheon. The former governor of New Mexico believes in legalizing marijuana. He supports gay and lesbian marriage. He believes in global warming. And, he is also a Republican candidate for president.
But, what happens when you do not make controversial comments like treating the Federal Reserve President ugly (Perry), wishing Elvis happy birthday on the anniversary of his death (Bachman) or advising Muslims they cannot be part of your administration (Cain). Well, if you’re a candidate like Johnson, you end up dead last in the polls. In fact, you do not even get on the polls. Such is American politics these days.
Johnson, the most liberal of the Republican candidates is having a tough time with his campaign.
Could it be his bad hair? You have to admit, Tom Brokaw was right, these Republican candidates do have some fine looking hair. Johnson’s hair, well it needs a little work, or gel, or something.
Could it be he does not have enough executive experience? Well, he was Governor of New Mexico. So, he knows how to win campaigns.
Why then did he chose to sit out the Iowa Straw poll, the most ridiculed and at the same time the most followed fundraising event ever conceived? Simply enough, Johnson wanted to save money. By sitting out the Iowa straw poll, he conserved his political war chest. But he also paid a price by losing out on valuable media coverage.
In politics, media coverage is worth more than gold itself. So, for every crazy thing that is said by a politician, no matter how crazy it seems, it earns the speaker valuable media coverage. So no matter what is said, whether it be constructive or deconstructive, it is still free advertising.
So, if it was not for Bachman and Perry and their endless “They said what?” comments, Johnson just might get his media coverage. A Republican who supports legalizing marijuana? How liberal of an idea is that? That should be on every major news network. Then at least get Johnson could get some free media coverage.
But no for now, we are stuck with the main stream media focusing on convincing us that Perry and Bachman are just too crazy to be president. Yet, also giving those two candidates’ hours of free press coverage every day as the pundits deconstruct their latest comments.
But for now, you can find Gary Johnson on Facebook, and you can friend him. These days, if you’re running for President and the worst thing you can come up with is legalizing marijuana, well, then you deserve a few more friends.