Tom Koos
Candidate for the Office of President of the United States
Party: Democrat
Website: www.tomkoos2008.com
Although Tom Koos is listed as a 2008 Democratic candidate for president, he isn’t in it to win. On the contrary, some presidential candidates are much more qualified, he said. “I think there are a lot of legitimate presidential candidates,” Koos said, mentioning Joe Biden and Bill Richardson. “These are people with enormous resumes, and they just don’t get the media attention.” Unlike these candidates, Koos, who has served on county commissions and committees, but never held elected office, paid the $1,000 filing fee and is running in the New Hampshire primary simply to increase public interest in the upcoming election. |
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“It’s so easy to be disenfranchised if you’re young and don’t understand the political process or are not interested,” Koos said.
In running essentially a one-man campaign, this Stanford University facilities manager said he hopes to engage those around him in the political process and has had luck at Creekside High School in Sonoma, Calif., with Walter Williams’ civics class.
“I use Tom as an example of what’s right with democracy,” Williams said.
But St. Michael’s political science professor John Hughes thinks Koos’ campaign shows the need for more regulation in who runs for president, he said.
“It sounds like a vanity campaign,” Hughes said. “You know they say the advantage of the Web is anybody can publish, and the disadvantage of the Web is the same thing.”
However, the constitution was created to give everyone a chance to be involved in the government, Williams said.
“I think that it’s just a great representation of what a democracy should be,” Williams added. “I think there should be more Tom Kooses out there.”
Although Williams has worked for Barack Obama’s campaign, he isn’t reachable, Williams said. But Koos is accessible, and he helps students and others become less disillusioned about politics, Williams said.
“A lot of it’s fun,” Williams said. “It’s just crazy and goofy things he adds to the campaign.”
But Koos also has a serious side to his campaign, and he encourages people to learn where polling places are and to keep registration current.
Koos, who also ran for president in New Hampshire in 2000, describes running as a wildly entertaining process and says he regrets not running in 2004.
“It’s such a great process they have in the state,” Koos said. “So many of the voters take their responsibilities very seriously.”
Williams knew of Koos’ 2000 campaign, but didn’t use Koos as an example in his class until this year.
“The platforms are more developed and complex,” Williams said. Koos’ Web site, www.tomkoos2008.com, includes more information than many major presidential candidates, with not one central campaign issue.
“It’s not a bumper sticker campaign,” he said. His main concern is energy policy, said Koos, who has a bachelor’s in science and master’s in water science. The U.S. needs to begin climate change negotiations and increase renewable energy use, he added.
His Web site also includes plans for health care, the environment, immigration, food safety, education and the war in Iraq.
Within 100 hours of taking office, he wants all troops to be home, Koos said.
“Just get them home,” Koos said.
“I want our forces to be able to collect their paychecks here at home and be able to spend time here with their families.”
After all troops, contractors and equipment are removed from Iraq, Koos suggested a way to help the new Iraq leaders.
“As a final thank you, I recommend that our current president leave his credit card with the new administration in Baghdad, so that they may have a line of credit to work on rebuilding their country as they see fit,” according to Koos’ Web site.
Although he described this as a “tongue-and-cheek” statement, the situation in Iraq desperately needs change, he said.
“We all bear the cost of the war,” Koos said. “The average American pays, what is it, $2,400 into these wars. It’s just gotten ungodly expensive.”
Koos also addressed education.
“I sat down with three or four teachers this last weekend … trying to figure out what has gone wrong, what we can do better,” Koos said.
Koos wants to strengthen public schools, promote diversity and create second-chance schools for high school dropouts, according to his Web site.
Forty-two-year-old Koos is a native of Modesto, California, and lives there with his wife of nine years, Dawn Banghart. He only plans to run in New Hampshire.