Another round of interviews at the LP convention today. The first is ten minutes with Leslie Aherne and Paul Antakolski on "Living Longer and Better" on WMEX, Boston. We talk about health care, education, and taking care of the poor. Paul seems convinced that nothing would be possible if the government didn't do it. Even though he may be as old as I am, he has no recollection of the multitude of charity hospitals and free clinics that existed throughout America before government regulations ran them out of business.

A Los Angeles Times photographer follows me around for an hour or so, taking pictures of me in various places around the convention.

I have a short interview with Greg Hardesty, a staff writer for the Orange County Register, the large local daily newspaper. He is writing a feature story on the convention for the Sunday edition, and says another reporter will be around to cover the voting tomorrow.

I tape a 5-minute video interview with Ned Martel, Chief Political Correspondent for Voter.com, a large political website. He asks which other presidential candidate I hope to take votes from. I say that they are all on the other side of the fence from the Libertarians. Al Gore, George Bush, Pat Buchanan, and Ralph Nader all want to control your life, make decisions for you, and run the world. I'm the only presidential candidate that believes you're competent to make your own decisions, so we should draw voters away from all four of them.

A young woman from Peninsula High School in the Los Angeles area interviews me briefly for the school paper.

Afterward I meet with caucuses from a number of states.

The Southern Party (a new party formed to restore respect for the Southern heritage) held its first convention today in Charleston, South Carolina. I later learn that Ron Holland gave a speech to the convention in which he endorsed me for President (the Southern Party isn't running candidates this year). The speech has been posted at http://www.ronholland.com/Ch%20Speech.htm.

The day begins with the nomination speeches for the presidential candidates. Carla Howell nominates me, seconded by Fred Collins and Reginald Jones. The presentation concludes with the screening of four 1-minute ads produced by our campaign. The ads go over very well.

The roll call of delegations begins with Montana (chosen by lot) and proceeds alphabetically from there to Wyoming and then to the start of the alphabet at Alabama. Massachusetts puts me over 50%, and I finish the first ballot with 56% of the vote.

Don Gorman then goes to the podium and gives a fiery speech urging the party to unify now that the nomination has been decided. I give a short speech, thanking him and Barry Hess for running clean, constructive campaigns.

Before I can leave the auditorium, Andrew Bowers of National Public Radio catches me for an interview for tomorrow's Morning Edition program on NPR. He surrounds the interview with quotes from other Libertarians and with a nice objective description of the LP and what it's trying to achieve. (You can hear the interview at http://www.npr.org/news/national/election2000/bios/libertarian.html.)

Then it's over to the press room for a whirlwind of interviews. Reporters are lined up there waiting to talk with me. There are brief interviews with Kate Folmass of the Los Angeles Times, Victor Infante of the Orange County Weekly, Diana Chiyo McCabe of the Orange County Register, and Erica Werner of the Associated Press. TV interviews include Jon DuPre of Fox News TV, Sam Hall Kaplan of LA's Channel 11, the Fox affiliate, and Mary Moore of the Orange County News channel. There also are Internet interviews with Ned Martel of Voter.com and Kris Lotlikar of ZoomCulture.com.

The stream of interviews is interrupted by Johnny Rotten, the former lead singer of the Sex Pistols. (They apparently have been a very popular band, but since they don't play much Rachmaninoff I'm not in a position to know.) He is very gracious for a man with dyed hair and plenty of earrings. Apparently, he became a friend of Libertarians through reading Bill Winter's LP press releases, and he decided to visit the convention.

After the rush of interviews in the press room, I go back to my room to change clothes. While there, I have phone interviews with Mike Ambrosini of KNX radio in Los Angeles and Norman Hall of Associated Press radio.

The banquet raises about $125,000.

When we return to the convention hotel, I have the opportunity to meet for the first time Richard Cowan of NORML (the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws). He has been fighting for years against the Drug War. He is very kind in telling me how much he enjoyed my acceptance speech and how supportive he is of the campaign.

Susan Marie Weber is running for state representative in California. She has a telephone interview scheduled with Lou Penrose at KNWZ in Palm Springs this morning. We go to her room to await the call. When it comes, she tells Lou that I'm with her, and I speak with him for 10 minutes on the air. I've talked with him before, and he's very helpful to Libertarians.

Later I have an in-person interview in the press room with Stephen Cox and Bill Bradford of Liberty magazine. They want to know why I think we should do better this year than in 1996. I tell them the party is more than twice as large as in 1996, we have raised more money, we have much better relations with the press and broadcasters, we are getting much more media exposure, we will do many times as much advertising, and much more. No one can predict the outcome, but we have many opportunities we've never had before.

After a brief phone interview with Jay Lawrence at KFI radio in Los Angeles, Pamela and I head for the Orange County airport to catch a plane to Washington.

We have to change planes in Salt Lake City, at which time I have a phone interview with Michelle Laxalt and Barry Lynn on a radio network. Because I'm late reaching them by phone, Jim Babka handles the first 15 minutes of the interview and does a fine job. Michelle is a Republican who was very good to me during the 1996 campaign and Barry is a Democrat. Both are very respectful. We all defend Barry against a Libertarian caller who complains that Barry isn't nice to Libertarians. Actually, he is.

Tonight on CBS' Late Late Show, Craig Kilborn says, "In other news, the libertarian party nominated Harry Browne to be their presidential candidate. Not much is known about him except he will never, ever be president."

Today in the Rasmussen daily poll I jumped from 1.0% to 1.4%, undoubtedly as a result of many people seeing the LP convention on C-SPAN. This demonstrates how important national exposure is.

Our ads will start running on national cable networks later this month, and it's vital that we raise as much money as possible to show them far and wide. We are the only party offering people the opportunity to be free to live their lives as they want, but they can't vote for us if they don't know about us. And it isn't enough for them to see one ad; they need to see us often to be reassured that other people are seeing us, and therefore to know that their votes will be added to those of others and make an important statement.

It may be the 4th of July, but a lot is going on.

The day starts with a phone interview with Lee Rodgers and Melanie Morgan at KSFO in San Francisco. It is scheduled for 30 minutes, but lasts 45. It begins with my usual "We want you to be free to live your life as you want to live it, not as Al Gore or George W. Bush thinks is best for you . . ." When I'm finished, Rodgers says, "I wish the two major-party candidates were as articulate and well-spoken as you are." The interview continues, we take a number of calls from people with concerned questions, and I consider the show to be a success.

Next there's a brief phone conversation with someone at CNN, a "pre-interview" call to get information on which to base questions for the live interview that will take place later today.

I have a 10-minute phone interview with Dave Arrowwood of WSM and WTN in Nashville. He is very friendly.

A big day today. Two national TV shows, three national radio shows, and five other interviews.

While eating breakfast in a coffee shop with Pamela, Jim Babka, and Steve Willis, I have an interview on my cell phone with Kathryn Jean Lopez of National Review's website. Near the end, she asks about my relations with the media. I point out that radio and TV talk shows are very good to me. But print interviews require me to spend lengthy periods talking with someone who will use the eventual article to push a personal point of view that may have little to do with my main points. I say, "For example, you probably won't mention that the essence of my campaign is to make it possible for you to live your life as you want to live it, not as Al Gore or George Bush thinks you should."

(As it turns out, she publishes the interview on the National Review website in Q-&-A format, including all of my statements. However, someone transcribed some of my statements incorrectly. One statement comes out that "government gets bigger, more expensive, and more instructive" instead of more intrusive. Elsewhere the transcript has me saying that the LP is now "well over half the size of what it was four years ago," instead of more than twice the size. I email Kathryn about it and she makes the corrections on the website the same day. (The interview is at http://www.nationalreview.com/interrogatory/interrogatory070500.html.)

The first in-person interview of the day is with Teresa Joerger of the Washington Times, the daily competition to the Washington Post. She asks many questions and takes more extensive notes than anyone I've seen in this campaign. She is writing a series of articles on third-party candidates. She asks Pamela why she first suggested that I run for President in the early 1990s. Pamela refers her to the appendix Pamela wrote for my latest book, The Great Libertarian Offer.

From there, we go to a taping with Greg Corombos at Radio America. We talk for about seven minutes, so that he can put together material for their on-the-hour news updates. The interview goes well; both the questions and answers are brisk and to the point.

In the car, I do a quick phone interview with Kelly Beaucar of ConservativeHQ.com. She has been very good to us, and the article she puts together today on my nomination is no exception. It explains our campaign approach very accurately and persuasively. (It can be seen at http://www.conservativehq.com/chq/displayarticle?articleId=1820.)

Next is a taping at ABC radio news. Rusty Lutz asks a series of questions, from which he will extract soundbites for a report in the hourly newscasts.

We have been under the impression that I was to tape an episode of ABC's Nightline show with Ted Koppel today. But it turns out the producers wanted me to come to ABC to get acquainted and see whether they want me to be on a future show. The interview goes very well. There are about a dozen ABC people asking questions in a large boardroom.

One of the Nightline staff members talks with someone at Newman Communications (our P.R. firm) later in the day. He says the general consensus of the people in the meeting is that I scored a B+ in my interview. So you may be seeing me on Nightline yet.

We rush from ABC over to CNN-TV for the Inside Politics show. Bernard Shaw does a nice job of interviewing me, giving easy questions that are more intended to elicit information than to be confrontational. I may be wrong, but most interviews seem much more calm than they used to be.

We make it to the MS-NBC studio about 15 minutes late, but still in time for a 35-minute interview. He has improved considerably as a host since I was on his show in 1996. He keeps the show moving along crisply. After talking with me himself for a while, we go through about a dozen calls in as many minutes. He and I disagree on several issues, but he has always been a gracious host.

In the car I use my cellular phone for an interview with Joan Buffington at KVMR in Sacramento. It is short and to the point, but I have the opportunity to cover most of the essential points.

Next on the agenda is an in-studio, 11-minute interview with Ray Suarez on the PBS News Hour with Jim Lehrer. When I was on this show in 1996, I was surprised that the interviewer was very polite and simply seeking information from me. The same is true tonight, as Suarez asks very informative questions and the interview goes swimmingly. (You can see the interview through a link on the campaign website.)

Another good day. It starts with an interview at CBS Radio, where I have a 15-minute taped interview with Peter Maer. It goes very well, and it will be aired this weekend on the network. After the interview, Dottie Lynch comes by to see us. She is overseeing the CBS-AOL website that will be up and running soon. Apparently, we will be covered there.

From CBS we drive to Arlington, Virginia, to USA Today for an interview with Tom Squitieri. He wrote an article on the nomination that appeared this past Monday. It was as much about the Reform Party as about us, but it was still helpful. Today he is very friendly, takes a great deal of time getting information from me, and then introduces Jim Babka, Steve Willis, and me to several reporters and editors at USA Today.

Then we go to Insight Magazine, a weekly newsmagazine published by The Washington Times, for an interview with Steve Goode. He mentions that he's a "small l" libertarian, and his questions indicate a knowledge of libertarian ideas. While there, the staff photographer shoots about 30 pictures of me. Heaven only knows what will show up in the magazine.

Back at the hotel I have a phone interview with Philip Smith of the Drug Reform Coordination Network. He is writing an article on us for his email release list. As he didn't see my acceptance speech at the convention, I go over some of elements of the Drug War section. He sounds very supportive. (The interview is at http://www.drcnet.org/wol/144.html#harrybrowne.)

Another phone interview follows. This one with Gary Barrett on Policast.com, an all-politics Internet radio station. He asks several questions and takes three calls from listeners during the 15-minute interview.

The final event of the day is an appearance on MS-NBC's Equal Time TV show. It is similar to CNN's Crossfire, but with Oliver North representing the Republicans and Paul Begala the Democrats.

In the first half of tonight's show they have two opposing guests, one a Democrat and one a Republican, the usual format. The Republican is Armstrong Williams, a prominent radio talk-show host who often appears on TV as an apologist for the Republicans. We chat before the show and he tells Jim Babka to be sure to call him to arrange for me to be on his radio show.

Since I'm neither Republican nor Democrat, I'm the only guest in my 12-minute segment. The interview goes very well. I'm able to dominate the conversation and get across many of the points I want to emphasize, no matter what questions are asked.

Next I have a phone interview with Matt Santaspirt of FoxNewsOnline.com. He is writing profiles of five third-party candidates, which will appear on the their website on Wednesday, July 12. (However, as of that date the website was still under construction.) The conversation goes on for about a half-hour. He is 24 and seems to agree that government is way too big and intrusive.

Jim Babka, Steve Willis, and I drive to WTOP for a live 3-minute radio interview with Debra Anderson in the middle of a newscast. She introduces me as the candidate of the "Liberation Party," but gets it right the next time the name comes up. She asks short questions; I give short answers, emphasizing my desire to stop politicians from running your life, stop interfering with your ability to get a job, stop presuming they know what's best for you.

We then head for Radio America for a 40-minute network interview with Blanquita Cullum. She interviewed me at the convention last week, and she was very good to us during the 1996 campaign. She is very cordial today, although she is ailing slightly from eating some bad food last night.

One of the callers is a radio-station owner in the Boston area who is a strong Republican. He says every vote for me is a vote for Al Gore, because it will be taken away from George Bush. I say, "You've just said that people should vote for Republicans even though they haven't earned your vote. Why? Why vote for a person or party that has done nothing to make government smaller, nothing to make your life better? They punish you and you reward them. Only by voting Libertarian will you let them know they can't take you for granted anymore."

An interview with John McColloch of WXYT in Detroit is cancelled because of a local story that has taken over the news.

The final event of the day is an interview on the America's Voice TV Network (formerly National Empowerment Television). I know that it is to be with Ellen Ratner, a liberal whose radio show I've been on several times. But when I walk into the studio, there with her is Armstrong Williams, the Republican I met last night at Equal Time. It is another Crossfire/Equal-Time type show, with a Republican and a Democrat as hosts plus guests, cookies, and chaos.

Fortunately, I'm the only guest. Neither one agrees with me, but that's okay. They try continually to interrupt me, but that's okay, too, because I've learned to take command of a show and keep people from interrupting me (as long as I'm in the same studio and not at a remote location).

At one point he asks whether I really believe there's no difference between Republicans and Democrats. I say there's a difference in rhetoric but they both make government bigger, more expensive, more intrusive, more oppressive. Williams claims that's crazy and says, "Look at the differences on Affirmative Action, abortion, the death penalty, same-sex marriage, capital gains."

I say "Yes, there's a difference in rhetoric, but look at each of those issues. The Republicans haven't implemented a significant change with any of them. So why should we care which of those two parties is elected?"

Ratner wants to go on to something else, but Williams stops her. After having scoffed at some of what I'd said earlier, he now says, "Wait a minute, Ellen. Listen to what the man says. He may be on to something."

Another caller asks my stand on the 2nd amendment. I say that as President I would issue an executive order disarming every non-military federal employee, especially the guards at the Capitol Building, and would keep them disarmed until Congress restores to every American the complete and unconditional right to defend himself.

In short, a good time is had by all.

I have a 20-minute interview with Todd Hartley at KTAR in Phoenix. Before we go on the air, he says, "I'm a really big supporter of what you're doing." And he demonstrates it by boosting me and other Libertarians on the air.

Late in the interview, a woman caller says she likes everything I've said but wants to know how I feel about open borders. I tell her the borders are open, that governments will never be able to close them. All politicians can do to try to close the borders is to invade your privacy, by making you carry an identity card and by threatening employers with fines and imprisonment for hiring illegal aliens. Even so, the immigrants still will come across the borders. I say we must close the down the welfare state so that we won't worry about who comes into America. A free and prosperous nation doesn't fear anyone coming or going, but a welfare state will always be scared of poor people coming in and rich people getting out. The caller says she doesn't agree but still likes the other things I've said.

FreedomChannel.com is a lavish political website funded by a number of large foundations. Among other things, they provide 90-second video clips of candidates speaking on various issues. Today a two-person crew arrives at my hotel room to tape video clips on ten different subjects. (The clips can be seen by going to our campaign website.)

After two days of catching up on miscellaneous writing projects and other desk-clearing activities, I'm back doing interviews.

I then have a 20-minute phone interview with Michael Richards of a magazine called The Senior Focus. I assume he's concerned about Social Security, but he asks questions on other issues while I keep trying to get onto the topic of Social Security. He seems quite supportive of libertarian positions.

Tom Sailor of Your Money magazine calls to discuss my book, Fail-Safe Investing, for an article he's doing on alternatives to standard stock-market investing. I try to get him onto politics but to no avail.

The final interview of the day is a doozy. Don & Mike are shock jocks on CBS radio. They interview me for about 25 minutes. They want to talk about sex; I want to talk about politics. I seem to do a good job of converting their questions into opportunities to talk about politics. I decline to answer personal questions. Quite an experience, but they seem genuinely in favor of my positions (which I managed to get across). Later in the day we get some emails from people who heard the show, went to the website, and were favorably impressed with what we offer.

At the end of this interview, I get a call from Press Secretary Jim Babka who's been listening to the show on the air. He asks what I think, I say, "Well, they are a bit raunchy." He tells me my voice is still coming through on the air; the station didn't disconnect the line, and the hosts are listening to see whether I say anything after the interview. Oh well.

(Tomorrow on the Don & Mike show, the announcer will introduce them by saying, "Here are the men the next President of the United States, Harry Browne, thinks are a bit raunchy.")

As I've said before, I think shows like this are quite valuable. They reach people who don't listen to the talk shows that are focused on politics. I seem to do well on almost all of them, and I may be the only presidential candidate showing up on them.

I start the day fully embarrassed. By setting my clock incorrectly, I have missed two early shows (one will be rescheduled for tomorrow and the other next week).

Juan asks a number of questions about eventual Libertarian goals for society. I realize that we're going far beyond what a President could achieve at the federal level. So I twice make the point that the question isn't whether you agree right now with all these goals. Rather, it's very important that you decide in what direction you want to move, in order to know how best to vote. If you want government to continue getting larger and more intrusive, you should vote for Republicans or Democrats. If that isn't what you want, you must make sure you don't reward Republicans and Democrats by voting for them. Only by voting Libertarian can you make it clear that you want to start the process of making government smaller. (There's a link to the interview at our campaign website.)

Today's first interview is at 7a.m. with Brian Weigand and Eric Power, two young men on the Morning Line on WLNI-FM in Lynchburg, Virginia. They are both completely favorable to all my proposals. During the 30-minute interview, they simply assume that everyone should want to be free. They put a link to my website and to the LP website at their website at www.wlni.com/morningline/index.shtml.

On July 7 I was on a confrontational television show with Armstrong Williams. He began by being strongly opposed to a third-party candidate who he thinks would siphon votes away from George Bush. By the end of the interview, he was asking his co-host to stop interrupting so that he could hear more of my Libertarian ideas. He wasn't converted, of course, but he demonstrated an open mind in public that's very rare for a conservative or liberal talk-show host.

Today I'm on his radio show on the Talk America radio network. Once again, we have disputes over how to get to smaller government, but he's very open-minded. As we go into the first commercial break he says, "I like this guy, I really do. He makes a lot of sense."

It appears that this is the start of another good media relationship.

The callers are almost universally supportive and complimentary. However, one says, "I like a lot of what you say, but it sounds like the old hippie slogan that you should do whatever you want if it doesn't hurt others." I say that I'm not really familiar with what hippies said, but we Libertarians do believe you should be free to do what you want so long as you don't intrude on someone else's person or property. After all, you're the one who gets up and goes to work everyday; why shouldn't you be the one to control the money you earn? You're the one who's responsible for your family, so why should the politicians make the decisions? I ask him if that makes sense, and he says, "Perfect sense. I guess I'm a Libertarian."

Bush 41.5%
Gore 36.4%
Nader 4.0%
Buchanan 2.4%
Browne 1.6%
Phillips 0.3%
Some Other 2.7%
Not Sure 11.1%

You can see the daily tracking on the Internet at www.rasmussenresearch.com/html/poll_demo.cfm?PollID=804&DemoID=199.

Only the Libertarian Party will remain as the challenger to the two-party system that more and more people are becoming fed up with. This will lay the groundwork for competitive Congressional races in 2002 and a much more competitive presidential race in 2004.

Yesterday and today there are no interviews, as I do some telephone fund-raising and catch up on some campaign writing projects.

Meanwhile, there is both good news & bad news on the poll front.

The bad news is that there's been a slight slippage in the Rasmussen Poll from its 1.6% level last week:

Bush 41.7%
Gore 33.1%
Nader 5.5%
Buchanan 2.5%
Browne 1.4%
Phillips 0.1%
Others 3.8%
Not sure 11.9%

Further bad news is that the latest Gallup Poll, released today, includes the four other main candidates, but not me.

The good news is that Zogby today released its monthly poll. This month we're at 1.7%, up from 1.3% on June 21:

Bush 42.5%
Gore 37.4%
Nader 6.0%
Buchanan 2.6%
Browne 1.7%
No other choices listed, but 9.8% unaccounted for.

Five interviews today. None of the hosts are Libertarians, but all of them are very friendly and supportive.

The first is at 7:35 a.m. on A.M. America, broadcast on 15 stations of the Liberty Works Radio network. The hosts are two men and a woman, whose names I never catch. It is a typical traffic-time morning show with jokes and kidding. But all three are supportive, and I get positive responses to my plea to end the Drug War.

Then it's about 15 minutes with Mancow Muller on WKQZ-FM in Chicago. Actually, I have about 3 minutes; the rest of the time it's Mancow talking. He delivers monologues on several subjects in the middle of the interview. One of them is on the evils of the Green Party. He says, "Read their platform, folks; it's pure communism." (Later I go to the Green Party site at www.GreenParty.org, read the platform, and discover he's right.)

His only disagreement with me is over the Drug War. And even there, when I ask him what he thinks should be done about drugs, he mostly wants to end the punitive sentences and tone down the Drug War.

Next it's most of an hour with the Jeff Johns show on WLKK in Erie, Pennsylvania. He, too, is very supportive. He says he planned to scan my book, The Great Libertarian Offer, over the weekend in preparation for the show, but he became so engrossed he read it in its entirety. There are many calls, almost all of them very friendly.

However, one person calls to oppose my stand on the Drug War. The caller after that refers to his predecessor as a nitwit. I say we must recognize that many people are bound to think the Drug War is doing good because they're exposed to only one point of view. The tide of public opinion on the Drug War is turning our way; let's encourage that movement by treating with respect those who haven't yet caught on.

The final show is another lovefest. Richard Dixon at WAPI in Birmingham interviews me for about 15 minutes. He says, "I love the Libertarian message," and later, "Big government is nothing but oppressive." He also says he saw a poll that showed me at 6% with Kentucky voters, but I don't get a chance to find out where he saw that.

The next interview is with Barbara Schoetzau of the VOA Background Report on the Voice of America, transmitting overseas to absentee voters and others. She tapes about 20 minutes of questions and answers. A lot of the interview deals with the obstacles third parties face in getting on the ballot and getting attention.

The day's final interview is with Spence (no other name given) on the Planet Spence show on KVTA in Ventura, California. He is very supportive on and off the air. He says he's leaning toward voting Libertarian this year.

Two shows today. The first is with Steve Gill at WLAC in Nashville. Due to a technical glitch, a scheduled 15-minute interview turns out to be only two minutes. We cover the income tax only, but I do get in the website address and phone number.

The second interview is with Mark Scott at WXYT in Detroit. Mark has become a good friend of the LP over the years. He is very supportive of Libertarians and of my candidacy. He mentions the Great Libertarian Offer book several times.

My first show today is 30 minutes on WSB with Neal Boortz, Atlanta's top talk-show host and a staunch Libertarian. We talk about the attention the media are giving to Ralph Nader and Pat Buchanan, while rarely referring to me. I say that this could change with the kickoff of our ad campaign next week. We'll be sending videotapes of the ads and the ad schedule to many journalists. And we're almost ready to kick off a campaign to stop the media blackout. Neal and I also talk about my public appearance in Atlanta next Thursday.

Next is an hour with Jeff Styles on WGOW in Chattanooga. He seems to agree with basic libertarian concepts, but is concerned about clear-cutting in Tennessee forests. I point out that private companies don't usually do damage to their own property, because that hurts their future profits. I also mention organizations like the Nature Conservancy that raise money from people who want to keep special lands out of private hands; they band together to buy the property and keep it off the market.

He agrees that such organizations do good work, but says they don't cover all the property that needs to be protected, and so we need government to help out as well by forcing property off the market. I point out that giving the government such power is also giving it the power to tell him what he can do with his own property. He calls my statement demagoguery.

My last interview is with Adrian Gregory of the Galveston County News in Texas. She's preparing an article on third-party candidates. She sounds very young, but very conscientious about making sure the details are correct.

The interview itself goes very well. Lots of humor all around, and complete agreement on all libertarian ideas. Whenever I take a stand on an issue, there is canned applause and cheering. At the end of the interview, one of them (Jason, I believe) says, "I'm the one Gordon brother who didn't match up with you on the SelectSmart test, but as a result of your statements I'm voting for you in November."

We're slipping in the Rasmussen poll (www.rasmussenresearch.com/html/poll_demo.cfm?PollID=804&DemoID=199). I've fallen from a high of 1.6% on July 13 to 0.6% Thursday (the last day reported). But our ad campaign finally kicks off this coming week. We're running a heavy schedule of ads on eight national cable TV networks. This is bound to make a difference.

News comes in daily of the effective activities of campaign volunteers.

I learn that Sue Smart had a letter to the editor published in the Omaha World-Herald on July 15. Her letter began by saying, "Harry Browne, the Libertarian Party candidate for president, makes so much sense. . . . Imagine a candidate who thinks I should be able to run my life myself." She then goes on to contrast that with the Bush and Gore campaigns, ending with "How about we elect Harry and take our government back?"

Another volunteer, Kyle Varner, sells merchandise through eBay auctions, and is including a Harry Browne banner on each of his auction pages.

Ernest Lewis in Washington state has a TV program called Libertarian Forum. He is going to run the ads on his show as news, and then discuss their implications with his viewers.

Ken Stricker has pointed out that, while no one likes to receive Spam (unsolicited emails), each person can add a small ad for the Browne campaign after his signature on each normal email he sends.

Here is one possibility:

[Your name, signing the email]
Ask me about Harry Browne for President
and the Libertarian Party
For more information e-mail me at [your email address]
Or check out:
www.HarryBrowne.org and http://www.lp.org.

I wish it were possible for me to personally thank the thousands of people who take it upon themselves to write letters to editors, encourage TV shows to book me, call into talk shows, or find new ways to publicize the campaign. I believe these activities are doing a great deal to further our goal of having the campaign seen everywhere everyday.

Three radio shows today. The first is a half-hour at 8am with Larry Hughes on WEOK in Poughkeepsie, New York. He begins by asking whether the issues have changed much since 1996, giving us reason to hope for a stronger showing. I point out that the main issue is exactly what it was in 1996: who is best qualified to run your life? All the candidates except me want to decide the most minute details of your life, and that hasn't changed since 1996.

He mentions that he was in favor of school vouchers until he read my commentary on education at our website. And he says he agrees with us on practically everything but the Drug War.

He calls attention to a survey showing that young people believe the federal government should censor the press and entertainment programs, and asks how I believe that kind of attitude came about. I say it's natural for young people to think this way. After all, they've been told for years that government can stamp out poverty or drugs, that government should decide how you should save for retirement, that government should control corporations and regulate the things that go into your home. Why shouldn't young people believe government should regulate the press and entertainment as well?

The next show is 22 minutes with Robert Wood, who is taping an interview for the 24 stations of the Texas State Network in Austin. The interview probably will run on the stations on Sunday, August 6. He asks a number of good questions that allow me to dwell on the issues and to emphasize the importance of voting Libertarian. He asks whether people are politically complacent because of the good economy. I say the right question isn't "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" It is "Are you as well off as you should be?" And I launch into all the things you might do with the added take-home pay if we repeal the income tax.

He is very strong on the Constitution, and so I work that into the conversation frequently. We have a few calls, all of whom are friendly. I make reference to my new book The Great Libertarian Offer at one point, and he says, "I have it and it's a masterpiece." Sounds like we have a new friend.

My first show of the day is an hour with Tony Macrini on WNIS in Norfolk, Virginia. I've been on with him before and he's always supportive. Early on he says, "Philosophically, I agree with you." Statements like that usually are followed with "However, . . ." but not in this case. When a caller says we need the Republicans for foreign policy, Tony says, "Would your children be more likely to wind up in a body bag in Kosovo with a Libertarian or Republican President?" The caller says, "With the Republican, of course." That seemed to end the plea for a Republican foreign policy.

Next I'm on for an hour with Michael Medved, broadcasting from KVI in Seattle and syndicated to 130 stations across America. The producer says the show has an audience of about 2 million people. That's probably an overstatement, but there's no question this is a very big show. Medved is well known as a movie reviewer on TV, and as a conservative critic of the media and the entertainment industry.

However, I know too that I couldn't do six or eight shows like this in one day; my blood pressure would go through the roof.

Back on the road again. I'm in St. Louis for a fund-raiser tonight. Michael Cloud and our road manager Steve Willis are here, too.

Today is also the day that our national TV ad campaign kicks off. Our Social Security ad is being run several times on CNN. It will also run on several other national cable networks over the next few weeks, along with our other ads.

Steve and I head back to downtown St. Louis for an interview at KTVI-TV, channel 2, with reporter Betsey Bruce. The interview lasts about ten minutes, from which she will take soundbites and put together a report for a newscast.

Unfortunately, none of today's interviews are assured of being broadcast today, so none of it will contribute to the attendance at tonight's fund-raiser.

In the evening, we have a fund-raiser downtown. Michael Cloud does his usual first-class job of eliciting money from the audience of 66. We show our new TV ads, the reaction is good, and the energy level in the room is high.

Michael Cloud, Steve Willis, and I fly to Atlanta. My wife Pamela joins us there.

Steve, Pamela, and I drive to the local National Public Radio station. There James Hargrove tapes a 20-minute interview with me, for use on the Peach State Radio Network of about 20 NPR stations in Georgia. Soundbites from the interview will be used on newscasts today and tomorrow, and the entire interview will be played over the weekend.

James is very friendly, and seems to understand libertarian concepts without trouble. He gives me the opportunity to say whatever I think is important.

From there we drive to the CNN center for my appearance on CNN's Talk Back Live!. The first 20 minutes of the show are devoted to a discussion of O.J. Simpson's new website and his offer to answer questions for a price. The remaining 40 minutes are an interview with me.

The show is broadcast from the courtyard of an atrium in the middle of the CNN building. A food court is right next to it. About 200 people are in the audience, in a circle around host Bobbie Batista and me. Other people are milling around the outskirts of the set. It is an awkward situation; sometimes it's hard to hear the questions, and it's difficult to speak conversationally in such a setting.

In the evening we have a speech and fund-raiser. The program is to start at 7:30. Pamela and I arrive at 6, and there already are 20-30 people there. The ballroom has seats for 440 people. By starting time every seat is taken, and there are 50-75 people standing along the walls, with another 30 or so standing in the doorway and the adjoining foyer. Unfortunately, this is the largest room in the hotel; so even though the RSVPs indicated an overflow crowd, there's no way to accommodate everyone who wants to get in.

Jennifer Willis organized the event in cooperation with Tracee Avery in Georgia, and they have done a spectacular job. One reason for the large turnout is that many Libertarians have made it a point to bring several non-Libertarian friends with them to the event.

PBS has someone here taping the occasion for a documentary on third parties. The local ABC-TV station has a reporter and cameraman on hand. Before the event begins, Alan Gomez of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution interviews me. (His report will appear in tomorrow's paper and be quite friendly.) Thad Damkoehler is here to videotape my speech for airing on cable access stations around the country.

The atmosphere is electrifying. Michael Cloud begins the program by asking those who are attending their first Libertarian event to stand. Over half the audience does. When Michael introduces me, I am overwhelmed by the reception of the audience. These people know what we stand for, they want it, and they know that only Libertarians can provide it.

The Georgia Libertarian Party is one of the strongest in America. It seems that everytime I come here, the audience is twice the size of the last appearance.

Events like this raise important sums of money for advertising, and they impress the media and non-Libertarians. We get numerous requests from Libertarians for me to appear at events, but too often the locals make only half-hearted attempts to assure the events' success. It isn't enough to send out some invitations and issue a press release to local media. To make the event a success requires an all-out effort to personally invite non-Libertarians and assure a large audience before even contacting the press. Then you can get some press coverage simply because of the large turnout that's guaranteed, not hoped for.

Pamela and I drive back to Nashville in a rented car. In the evening, I check my email and the Internet.

Today the daily Rasmussen Poll shows declining support for all third-party candidates. Nader, Buchanan, and Browne are all down a bit:

Bush, 44.9%
Gore, 33.2%
Nader, 3.6%
Buchanan, 1.5%
Browne, 1.1%
Phillips, .1%
Some Other, 2.8%
Not Sure, 12.8%

The significance of today's poll is that I'm now only 0.4% behind Pat Buchanan. He has received a thousand times the press coverage I have, he's mentioned almost daily in newspapers, and yet he has virtually no lead over me. Imagine where we would be if I received even 10% of the coverage he gets. With the power of our message, we would be flying past Ralph Nader.

Today he has forwarded a number of encouraging emails we've received as a result of my Talk Back Live! appearance yesterday. For example, Matthew Link says, "His brief appearance on CNN today (which I saw while waiting in the lobby during a job interview) clinched it for me. Harry Browne is the only person I could trust enough to vote for President. And I am also convinced to vote for no other than Libertarian (or libertarian) candidates for office anymore."

Someone who gave only his email address (AwesomeCarCare) says, "Just wanted to let Mr. Browne know that within 30 min. of question and answer on CNN Talk Back Live he has made a new libertarian, me. Please keep up the good work and stay focused, no matter what the outcome of this election. Please let me know If I can help in any way."

Paula Monday writes, "Finally a reason to take part in our election process. Thank you for making me believe in America again. I am sending your web site to everyone I know."

And that brings me to the final good news of the day. This evening, the Brit Hume show on Fox TV News closed by showing our Social Security TV ad in its entirety (including the phone number and web address) as news, introducing me as another alternative to Bush, Gore, Buchanan, and Nader.

After 24 hours at home, tomorrow I head for California for another series of personal appearances.

Michael Cloud, Steve Willis, and I arrived in San Francisco yesterday for a week of California events.

The first is a fund-raiser this afternoon at the home of Terry Easton in Hillsborough, an upscale suburb of San Francisco. About 20 people are in attendance and we raise over $20,000.

To take myself off the defensive I start asking questions of Ronn and of the callers. When Ronn says he can't imagine legalizing drugs, I ask him what he thinks should be done. He says marijuana ought to be legal, but not cocaine. So I point out that we disagree only on the matter of degree, not on the principle. When a caller says my desire for people to be free is simplistic, I ask, "Am I correct in thinking then that you don't think people ought to be free to live their lives as they believe best?" In addition to getting you off the defensive, asking questions is an effective way to make your critic realize that he doesn't have anything better to offer.

Harry Osibin of KITS-FM hears the Ronn Owens show and calls Jim Babka to arrange for me to appear on his show immediately afterward. Steve and I drive over to KITS, where Harry and I tape an hour show for airing this Sunday. The atmosphere is quite different from the Owens show. Although Osibin says he is registered with the Green Party, he is very sympathetic, the show is relaxed, and he asks questions to elicit information, not to shoot me down.