On the road with Chuck Baldwin -- now touring California

Last Friday I barely had heard of the Constitution Party. That's when a former Ron Paul staffer called to ask if I would help publicize a Monday event near Detroit; I obliged. Then Sunday he asked if I would like to pick up presidential nominee Chuck Baldwin at the airport and drive him to events on Monday. Of course I said yes.

His plane arrived on time, but we waited nearly 90 minutes for his luggage due to lightning and a power outtage that also knocked out his Blackberry/cell phone. Another high tech failure followed as my OnStar mapping directed us to road construction. Not long after that we looked for a restaurant that could not be found. I thought to myself, Jack, you're lucky you're not with John McCain; he'd probably be screaming by now!

But Chuck Baldwin remained unflappable. He also looked sharp, was extremely articulate with views that parallel Ron Paul about 90% of the time, and generated excited applause among the Family Rights Coalition of Michigan members attending the meeting where he spoke.

That was supposed to be it; Tuesday he and Darrell Castle, the Constitution Party's VP nominee, would head to the campaign's national headquarters in Grand Rapids for its grand opening; I wasn't needed. But then he said "I'd like you to come along if you can" -- so I did. Another day driving the only remaining White House candidate for whom I could vote in good conscience? Talk about a no-brainer!

Tuesday first took us to Lansing, where the two nominees were introduced to the state House. An interview with a political newsletter editor followed, whereupon the editor furiously scribbled notes as both men articulated a future for America that, to me at least, made much more sense than what I'm hearing from McBama.

Then on to Grand Rapids, greeted by a standing ovation -- except for a group of Ron Paul supporters who remained seated. So I thought it was significant that when Chuck Baldwin concluded his remarks, the table of Ron Paul supporters joined everyone else in another standing ovation.

I'm not yet sure where this might lead, but I am very encouraged that the Baldwin-Castle campaign has a strategy to win -- and it doesn't require getting on the ballot in all 50 states. Yes, it's an uphill battle, but the prospect of federal bankruptcy under McBama simply is not acceptable to me.

The bankruptcy prospect was confirmed again Monday by this article in Investor's Business Daily, an unabashedly conservative alternative to the Wall Street Journal: http://license.icopyright.net/user/viewFreeUse.act?fuid=MTE5...

Apologies for the incomplete headline at the link above. It should read that neither McCain nor Obama will produce a balanced federal budget.

At the campaign itself, the current web site soon will morph into something better -- on both candidates. But for now you can go to http://Baldwin2008.com for more info, including a link about the two candidates touring California from June 25-30.