Unlike many of you, I met presidential candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, in a unique way. Many may have seen Kucinich give formal talks or speeches regarding policy and his run for the presidency, but I was introduced to this unique candidate in a slightly different manner. In the summer of 2004, after Kucinich had finally given up his campaign, I had the pleasure of bumping into him when he met with the Hawaiian delegation to the Democratic National Convention. Not only did he talk to the Hawaiian Democrats wearing a lei, but he was as odd and unsettling in person as he appears to be on television.
I am reminded of my introduction to Kucinich because of his Feb. 18 return to Dartmouth, where he proceeds to run his campaign in a far different manner than anyone else. He does it with openness and honesty, mainly because he does not have a chance. I will by no means be voting for a Kucinich presidency. But if he can keep the other candidates honest, and force them to talk about uncomfortable issues, he will have done more than enough to affect the country.
The candidacy of Kucinich brings about another, broader issue: that of polarization in today's political climate. Whether here at Dartmouth, locally in New Hampshire, or across the nation, politicians seem to have less freedom and find themselves at the margins of the political spectrum. Part of that is gerrymandering (at least at the federal level) and part is due to the primaries, but at the same time, sometimes a little polarity can be a good thing. Arguments are not fought from the center, but from the left and right. We would get more done if there were more legislators in the political center, but we need those on the extremes to keep everyone else honest.
Kucinich's politics and mine differ substantially, and while he has no chance of winning, I am glad he is in the race. I am not sure if he legitimately thinks he can win, or if he just thinks there is a void in the race for the issues he cares about. But one thing is for certain: Kucinich will always let you know what he stands for, even if it is substantially unpopular or radical. He has voted against every war resolution regarding Iraq, from funding requests to the initial authorization of the war. He stays true to his urban Cleveland district, the city that elected him as the "boy mayor" at age 31.
It is the same honesty and liberalism that make his chance at the Democratic nomination only slighter higher than mine. This is because he both meets the Constitutional obligation of being at least 35 years old, and if the six or so candidates ahead of him were all killed in a freak natural disaster, he would become the frontrunner. Kucinich advocates, among other things, ending the war on drugs, legalizing same-sex marriage, instant-runoff voting, guaranteed pre-K and college education to those who want it, and withdrawal from NAFTA and the WTO. Some of these positions I agree with, some I do not, but almost none of these issues will be found in the stump speech of any other candidate for president. Because of his presence, Kucinich can at least pressure the other candidates to take positions on these issues.
It is not as if Kucinich has no support from members of the Democratic Party, either. He finds a great deal of support among liberal activists, college students and environmentalists for his clear and proud stances on the issues that matter most to him.
And if nothing else, Kucinich will provide us with fantastic entertainment value, nowhere near what the other candidates are capable of performing. Between his short stature, his third wife (who is British) towering over him, his thrilling rendition of the coal miner's lament "Sixteen Tons" or his repeated cries of "Crown thy good America" during the Democratic National Committee's winter meeting, the congressman from Cleveland leaves you guessing as to what he will do next. I do not pretend to understand Kucinich's quixotic campaign, but I will continue to watch it with a smile. He is doing us all a service.
