European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 18, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 Colour ring the stars and strikes monday May to 1987 James j. Kilpatrick let s hear it for America s army of the unknown by this time nine months before the Iowa caucuses almost everyone who cares about politics has heard about the Biggin in the race. Before we gel swept away by the oratory of the leading candidates some thing should be said for those whose names Are not yet household words. As of mid april the Federal election commission hid received filings some of them from draft comm it Lees on behalf of 112 candidates for president and three candidates for vice president. The notification lineup include All the heavy hitters the people you la be hearing More Abom than you May really want to know. Incredible As it May seem roughly 100 others have let their up ration be publicly known. Most of these candidacies Are in fact incredible but Hope Springs eternal my thought is thai the unknowns look at the prospective Field they see  Riding in air Force one and dining in the East room Lac know Dat As president they never again would Nave to wait on an elevator or search for a place to part after they have thought upon these things they look in the Mir ror and find the prospects enchanting. They ask of the Mirror Why not act so they form a committee. Thus we have a stable of hones invisibly  the hopefuls is Edward Matthew Bilcsik of Ripen Wii candidate of us Nouveau Century party of America. Kenneth George Robichaux of new or leans intends to head the ticket of the prix party. From Indianapolis James h. Ricketts or. Will be the Nomi Nee of the army of the re convention. At least two candidates Hail from Wyoming Al Hamburg of Torrington spearheading War veterans against nuclear weapons and Michael Lee Hamburg of Hawk Springs on behalf of the jobs for students jobs for youth party. Punch b. Burger of Chapel Hill n.c., will be the Choice of the society for prevention of cruelly to voters. From Jackson Heights . Comes the nomination of Charles j. Oil on behalf of Chuck Oil s believe it or not serious presidential committee. Texan is big this year. Roughly a dozen texans have tossed their Stetson in the ring among them Rickey Lynn Switney of fort Worth candidate of the Ameri can dream party. Women Are at hopeful As men. Seeking the demo cratic nomination Are mrs. Frank Stewart of Centre Ala Peggy Ann childen of Madison term Mildre Clover of Atlanta and Dolores Yolanda Gutierrez of Sunnyvale Calif. Across the aisle Campfi icing for the Republican prize is Alice Feggins Sheppard of free port . Concetta Marie Lanu no of Streator 111., David s. Broder Heads the new Israel with Concilia Marie party. Mrs. Nell k. Fiola of Burnsville minn., carries he Banner of the new millennium party. Karen Lee Blauvelt of Billerica mass., is running for president on her own. Three of the 1988 prospects have advised the Fec that their ambitions Are a bit More modest. Alfonzo Jones of Detroit William m. Daguman of san fran Cisco and Samuel Dale Darnell of Durant s  n.c., Are riot seeking the Oval office. They arc run Ning for the vice presidency Only. Well i say the More the merrier. In the fairly recent past our presidential elections have seen an astonishing number of parties actually get on ballots Here and there. In 1980, by Way of example Barry commoner ran in 36 states As nominee of the Citi Zens party. John r. Karick represented the american Independent party. Maureen Smith got on the Cali fornia ballot for the peace and Freedom party. Har Ley Mcuin ran in North Dakota for the National Peoples league. In new Jersey Sill Gahres carried the Banner of the Down with lawyers party he got 1,718 votes. I m All for the army of the unknown. Most of the fecs obscure candidates May be oddballs or screwball but some of the hopefuls have ideas Worth trotting out for inspection. Back in the 1920s, we regularly had candidates from the socialist labor and Fanner labor parties Many of their Campaign planks eventually wound up in the democratic plat form. The prohibition party started Fielding presidential candidate in 1871 and look what happened. They got the 1 8th amendment. Single taxes populists right to lifers and reformers of various hues have gone for the presidential  the winds of doctrine blow that we Mikon s Sage advice. And if the winds blow hard in 1988, the blowhards of this world deserve a Little recognition too. C Universal Piei s the opinion Ebeb a in ton co Bamra fend is Fiew 1 twin my Ftp-ren1 Thosa or Law but Sis and aia in no Way to 0 cons torah n  Iny in vial at tha suit Ana  of Ine Mulso St big Movw Nehrt Jackson s candidacy demands close attention when Jesse l. Jackson first broached the idea of a Black running for president a bit Over four years ago he said the fundamental relationship be tween Blacks and the democratic party Musi be  Jackson s performance in the 19b4 primaries brought controversy galore but also credibility to his Effort. Just three weeks ago the National journal said that As he approached his second Campaign Jackson was looking for  but with the departure of Gary Hart Jackson is the Only Democrat with prior presidential Campaign experience. He can claim the largest identifiable bloc of National support. Understandably hit aspirations Are now much greater. With the change in Jackson s status we must change the Way we report him. Most of us this reporter included have spent an exorbitant amount of time on his political tactics and his verbal pyrotechnics. We have focused on the questionable character of some of his sup porters and the increasing racial ethnic and economic diversity of some of his audiences. But we have paid too Little attention to what Jackson is actually saying. Ultimately like All the other contenders he will be judged by his personal qualities and his record As Well As his ideas. Vot ers evaluate the messenger and not just the message. But he Content of what Jackson is saying is obviously important to the nation s political future. And his views have been summarized conveniently in a a Brand new Book called straight from the heart a selection of speeches which be Calls a comprehensive representative collection of my thoughts and ideas Given the healed emotions Jackson stirs when he is in full cry from the Pul Pil or the slump it helps to read his speeches in cold Type. This Book makes it Clear that Jackson possesses a fully devel oped internally consistent View of the world rooted in a religious Phil Sophy which underlies All his political views. At the Center of every political eco nomic Legal and social Issue is the Spiri Tual moral and ethical dimension he writes. The religious sensibility weaves through All of Jackson s views giving a different cast to his utterances but the truly distinctive element in his politics and his View of both foreign and Domestic policy derives from his historical perspective for Jackson it is Clear the Cru Cial american experience was not the revolution or the Frontier not the Constitution or the new Deal. It was slavery. The crucial test of our current values and policies he asserts repeatedly lies in dealing with the heritage of slavery discrimination and racism. His Rainbow coalition includes others who share the legacy of poverty and  but the heirs to slavery Are at the coalition s heart. Other democrats May define their political base in terms thai suit their own purposes in regional generational or philosophical terms. Only Jackson would say As he did to the last democratic convention my constituency is the damned the disinherited the disrespected and the despised the slave children he sees among the economic losers in contemporary Ameri a. The same inverse viewpoint shapes Jackson s View of International policy. While most politicians of both parties see the world in terms of great Power relations emphasizing the soviet onion Japan and Western Europe Jackson focuses on the struggle of the nations emerging from colonialism and the peo Ples still denied self determination. Whether the Issue is South Africa or corporate Power Jackson s religious philosophy and his interpretation of history both impel him to urge a reversal of Power majority Rule in South Africa and employee influence in the boardrooms. We must look at every aspect of United slates foreign and Domestic policy Ihal has favored the Rich Over the poor the few Over the Many he says. As a nation we must change  even though his ten command ments for excellence in education could be endorsed by conservative Edu cation Secretary William Bennett the change Jackson recommends is Radical a every sense of thai word. He does not propose to tinker at the edges of policy he proposes to turn it upside Down and shake out of this nation and the world the elements of economic and human exploitation he finds morally unconscionable. Jackson also has a theory of social change. Ii argues that an organized and self conscious minority can gain sufficient leverage to extract major change and concessions from apparently stronger ruling Powers that is Why his philosophy and program and candidacy demand close at Tention even from those who assume he Wilt never gain the presidential prize he seeks. The Man has a political base he has a strategy and he has ideas. And that combination should never be ignored