The day begins with a slip-up. An interview on KSFO, a big talk station in San Francisco, falls through the cracks. Somehow I'm not informed of it, and by the time the mistake was discovered it was too late for me to be on. Brian Wilson, the guest host, is very gracious about it and we will do the interview soon. I feel badly about the mix-up because the show's producer is a wonderful Libertarian who has done a lot to help the campaign. And add to that the number of Libertarians who were informed of the broadcast and tuned in.

The day continues with three good interviews. The first is with Doug Raymond in on WTKF-FM in Moorehead, North Carolina. I've been on with him before, and he's within a hair's breadth of joining the LP. He says he agrees with us on all the issues, but he wonders how strong the LP's commitment to the 2nd Amendment is. I tell him that when a Republican says he supports the 2nd Amendment, he means he won't give in and vote for a gun-control bill until the last moment. By contrast, a Libertarian will adhere to the Constitution on all issues at all times, so you can be sure we won't compromise in any part of the Bill of Rights.

The radio interviews continue with Kevin Starrett on KPDQ in Portland, Oregon. He, too, is very supportive, and the callers are all either supportive or inquisitive, with none the least bit hostile.

The final interview is with my friend "Lionel" (Michael LeBron). He is one of the funniest people in radio. I first encountered him when he spoke at the New Jersey LP convention during the last campaign. He had the audience in stitches for half an hour, talking about politics. He is syndicated on a number of stations in big markets across the country. He is unusually complimentary today, and the show reaches a crescendo when he says, "I hereby formally endorse Harry Browne for President of the United States."

I was to appear on Hannity & Colmes tonight, but Fox TV couldn't arrange a satellite hookup for me in Nashville. And I was really in the mood to get into a shouting match.

The interview I did earlier with ConservativeHQ.com. shows up on its site. Among other things, Kelley O. Beaucar says:

"Browne says first and foremost, the income tax needs to be abolished, as well as Social Security and federal control of health care. He brings to these bold statements an articulate plan that allows taxpayers to save the money they are paying to the government each year and enjoy more effective services that aren't hindered by the bloated bureaucracy that exists in Washington today."

The entire article can be read at: http://www.conservativehq.com/chq/displayarticle?articleId=369 (although Internet publications sometimes change article addresses or delete them entirely after a period of time).

We have the most appealing political message possible. The all-important question is whether we'll have the resources to transmit that message to every potential American voter. If we do, it's only a matter of time until we win.

After three hours' sleep, I'm up at 6:15am to do a 3-minute interview with Joe Galuski in the news department of WSYR in Syracuse. It goes well and quickly.

She asks me about abortion, I tell her I'm opposed to abortion and so I don't want the government trying to stop abortions -- since the government fails at everything it tries. When she says Libertarians ought to be pro-choice, I tell her I don't like that term. Too many politicians proudly say they're pro-choice, but don't believe in a woman's right to choose to drop out of Social Security, or to run her own business free from federal mandates and hiring rules. (In the same way, most politicians who claim to be "pro-life" have no reservations about killing innocent people in Serbia or Iraq.) We believe in individual liberty, and Libertarians differ on the abortion question because an argument grounded in liberty can be made on either side of that issue. This is one of the few issues on which Libertarians aren't somewhat unanimous.

The third interview is with Arlene Violet on WHJJ in Providence, Rhode Island. She is very kind in not interrupting me when I answer her questions. She asks some very relevant questions, giving me the opportunity to barrel forward with short answers on all the important issues. Two or three of the callers are contentious but not hostile.

Tomorrow I'll be speaking at the Delaware LP convention. Our press secretary Jim Babka, together with our publicity firm Newman Communications, has lined up four Wilmington phone interviews for today, to help publicize the convention. The combination of a talented press secretary and a powerhouse P.R. firm is giving us coverage that goes far beyond anything we were able to do at any time during 1996.

The first interview is 15 minutes with Patrick Jackson of the Wilmington News Journal. He's very friendly, but who knows what he'll write?

The second interview is with John Rago on WDEL. He, too, is very friendly; he mentions that he read Why Government Doesn't Work and gets the LP's press releases. The interview lasts about 30 minutes and goes very well.

The final interview is with Chris Brugman of WMDM in Wilmington. He is very supportive and sounds as though he's on the verge of endorsing the Libertarian Party.

This morning I speak at the Delaware LP convention. I'm particularly glad to be here. In the 1996 campaign, I visited 37 states, but Delaware was one of those I missed. My speech isn't one of my best. I got to the hotel at 1:30 this morning and got just a few hours' sleep, after short sleep the night before. Normally, I can handle two nights of limited sleep (but no more); however, this time it certainly slowed me down.

Steve Willis drives me from Wilmington to Washington for a brief, one-segment interview on Fox TV News. It goes very well. There are two interviewers (whose names I didn't catch) and they give me the opportunity to deliver the message my way. We probably will be putting this video clip on the website shortly.

For example, it says, "But he believes he has a winning message. That message includes repeal of the income tax, abolish the FBI, end all federal welfare spending, pardon all non-violent federal prisoners, stop federal government involvement in education and in personal issues such as abortion. ‘I think everything revolves around a very simple premise that I want you to be free,' said Browne.

I mentioned in a previous installment that Carlos A. Ball had translated into Spanish my article on the 2,000,000 American prisoners and the need to end the Drug War, and that the article had run in two Spanish-language newspapers. Today I hear from him that the translated article has also run in Miami's Spanish-language daily Diario Las Americas on February 24, and in Puerto Rico's daily El Mundo on February 26.

He also corrected my statement in the last installment that he is the "editor of a group of Spanish-language newspapers." Actually, he edits and translates libertarian articles and sells them to Spanish-language newspapers and magazines in the US and 12 Latin countries. He is helping to spread libertarian ideas far and wide. I first came across him at the Florida state convention last year, at which he gave an excellent speech explaining how the American Drug War was helping to destroy South America.

In the last installment I mentioned the problems I have dealing with show hosts who give long speeches leading up to a question, and then interrupt me almost as soon as I begin answering the question, sometimes piling more questions on. Tom Estrada-Palma sent me a useful suggestion: "I'd say, ‘Please forgive me. I've known many very intelligent people in my life, but I've never met anyone smart enough to effectively answer two questions at the same time while being interrupted with still more questions.' Then go silent for as long as it takes for your persecutor to apologize and shut up so you can speak."

This calls attention to a technique that should be obvious, but too often gets overlooked: simply point out what's going on, rather than pretend it isn't happening. I can say, "I'm sorry but it just isn't possible to answer your 2-minute question in the 10 words you allow me before you interrupt. So before we continue, please tell me: are these rhetorical questions you're asking or do you really want me to answer?"

Another problem occurs when a host says, "We have only one minute left, so tell me . . ." He then goes on to use up 45 seconds making a speech that ends with a question. I now realize I shouldn't even try to answer a question under those circumstances. Instead I should say, "Sorry, but I can't answer a 1-minute question in 10 seconds, so I suggest you go to my website HarryBrowne.org for a proper answer."

"Is it really your position to let criminals sell drugs to children? I want the drugs sold by doctors and pharmacists; you want them sold by drug dealers in schools."

This leads to another technique I like but don't use often enough: Ask the questioner what he wants. "Do you want to see the Drug War continue as it is?"

Whenever I've asked that question, I've gotten either silence for an answer or the ever-popular "We should start publicly executing all drug dealers; that'll stop ‘em." That's easy enough to counter. Big-time drug dealers already risk life in prison; the death penalty isn't likely to be much additional deterrent. And if the policy did actually succeed in reducing the drug trade, think of the terrible precedent it would set. Soon they'd be executing people who sell cigarettes to children, then drunk drivers, then "dead-beat dads," and who-knows-whom after that.

If you ask the questioner what he wants, you usually provide a gentle demonstration that he doesn't really have a solution to the problem. Then when you offer your answer, the questioner doesn't usually argue with it.

We are getting wonderful reports from people who have shown the campaign videotape to friends. Today Jennifer Willis, our dynamo of a Volunteer Coordinator, forwarded a note from Mickey deRham saying, "Received the tape the other day and showed it to a friend who is dyed in the wool Republican yesterday. She didn't even see the whole thing and she was sold. This gives a big boost to my fire to work for HB. This AM this friend was on the phone at 7:30, wanting to know how to get more tapes as she has already been talking and has a bunch of people in Vermont who are dying to see it."

The video is proving to be a powerful recruiting tool. As a videocassette it's an ideal way to introduce a friend, neighbor, or business associate to the basic ideas of the campaign. Since it's only 30 minutes, it can be shown when friends have gathered for some other purpose without anyone feeling he's been sandbagged into a brainwashing session.

Today is primary election day in California. I'm informed that popular Los Angeles radio host Larry Elder mentioned on his show that he had voted for me today. He is a true friend of Libertarians and a very effective ally.

Out of bed at 6:30 for a 10-minute interview with Al Lerner and Richard Stevens on the Daybreak USA show on 350 radio stations. The interview goes well, as they let me answer every question fully.

Four interviews today. The first is a half-hour with Paul Irwin on WICR, an NPR station in Indianapolis. He is very friendly and even voices his own concerns about big government.

Then it's an alternative health show, "Mind Your Body," with Marcia Minor on WERE in Cleveland. I stress the federal government's intrusions into health care and she's happy to hear a candidate who wants the government out of the way.

I then have a one-hour interview on the I.E. America network with Michelle Laxalt, daughter of Paul Laxalt, the former Republican senator from Nevada. I was on her show during the last campaign, and she introduces me as "the integrity candidate." She and the callers all seem to be rabidly anti-Bush. I wonder how much they reflect rank and file Republicans around the country.

My last interview is an hour with David Gold on the Salem Radio Network. He calls himself a "Christian conservative-libertarian." Throughout the interview, he keeps telling his listeners that he and I are "kindred souls."

Four interviews and no confrontations. A pleasant, but strange, day.

Just one show today. It's with Jerry Hughes, a conservative Constitutionalist with whom I've had a good relationship for the past three or four years. He bears down hard when he disagrees, but he's a very fair interviewer. He is quite supportive, as were most of the callers today.

In the March 6 entry for the Campaign Journal, I mentioned an email received from "Doug" providing some good ideas for arguing against the Drug War. Unfortunately, it came with no last name, and I didn't know how to track down the author. It turns out that it was Doug Scribner, Vice-Chair of the Orange County (California) Libertarian Party.

After taking a day off and going to bed at 2am, I'm up at 6am to do a 45-minute radio show with Peter Solomon on WIP, Philadelphia. It appears to be a typical Sunday "public service" type broadcast, with free commercials interspersed throughout. But everytime he tries to take a call from a listener, he loses the phone connection to me and the station has to call me back. This happens about six times during the broadcast. But the interview goes well, he gives me plenty of opportunity to answer questions, and he seems to understand the point that when you give politicians the power to do what you think is right you're automatically giving politicians the power to do what you think is wrong. After the interview is over, I happily jump back in bed and sleep like a log.

I mention something that I've raised in a number of interviews so far: It isn't necessary for the listener to decide today to vote for me, since there's still almost eight months to Election Day. But it is important that the listener decide whether he wants to see the Republican and Democratic candidates have to defend the Drug War, the income tax, and locking you into Social Security. If you want these issues to become part of the public discussion, the best thing you can do is support my candidacy, because that's the only way it's likely that any of these issues will be raised.

The final interview of the day is at midnight with Joe Arnold at WHAS in Louisville. Although he doesn't agree with everything we stand for, he is very friendly and respectful. A Republican caller says he's a libertarian working for liberty as a Republican within the two-party system. I tell him that some Republicans have been trying without success to turn their party toward smaller government ever since the Eisenhower years. And I say that even if it takes a few years to get a Libertarian President, that's a better prospect than supporting Republican candidates and never getting smaller government.

I receive a message from a Libertarian who says, "I've been reading through the Campaign Journal that Mr. Browne sends out
weekly and he constantly talks about all of the great libertarian shows that he has been on and how the hosts are like minded, but those shows most likely have a libertarian-minded audience. It seems that Harry Browne is spending a little too much time talking to those that already agree and not enough time trying to convince others why the libertarian offer is so good. I'd sure
like to see Mr. Browne in office but I don't think that it's going to come unless he gets on shows where the host is Democratic or Republican."

I apparently have given the wrong impression in this Journal. Without going back to count the shows I've done so far, I'd say that about one quarter to one third of the shows have had Libertarian/libertarian hosts, perhaps one half have had Republican/conservative hosts, and maybe one sixth to one quarter have had Democratic/liberal hosts.

Today's shows so far, for example, include two conservatives, one libertarian, and one liberal as hosts. The fact that they treat me with respect doesn't mean they agree with me. But I hope through frequent appearances to move them all in our direction.

Only one interview today. It's 45 minutes with Jeff Santos on the Talk America Radio Network. He's a liberal, but very pleasant, and he gives me plenty of opportunity to talk. He wants to focus on how the poor will be taken care of. I keep stressing that almost anyone will take better care of the poor than politicians have. And I'm able to turn the conversation to Social Security, the income tax, and a little on the Drug War (which he wants to end).

A correspondent writes, "All these little radio stations are good but here in Maryland I have heard nothing of Harry. When are you going to get on the real media? Why don't you go to college campuses? Make some noise!"

Today, Jennifer Willis, our Chief Volunteer Coordinator, informed me that our volunteer organization has exceeded the 4,000 mark. These are people who are writing letters to editors, calling into talk shows, putting up signs, passing out bumper stickers, showing the videocassette at meetings, and doing many other important jobs that add so much to the campaign. I'm amazed at how quickly this organization has been put together. Jennifer started work on it only last Fall.

And now we have some wonderful state coordinators who are building effective state-wide organizations. In Michigan, for example, Al Titran already has 75 volunteers, with six county coordinators and nine coordinators for Congressional districts.

But, of course, we need thousands more volunteers, and I know they're out there. If anyone can find them, it's Jennifer. But you could speed up the process by going to www.HarryBrowne.org and signing up.

My first show today is with Dave Ross, an amiable host on KIRO, Seattle's big talk station. We joke back and forth at the outset, but I begin to worry that people who don't know me might wonder whether my candidacy is meant to be a joke, so I start bearing down on the issues. Dave reveals no trace of his own political positions, but he does say he wants to see me in the debates. The interview goes very well.

My only other show today is with Chuck Morse on the American Freedom Network. He calls himself a small "l" libertarian, and begins by saying that a vote for me is a vote for Al Gore. I ask why electing Al Gore is any worse than electing George Bush. Either one will make government bigger and push back any reduction in government by another four years, so why not pave the way for a Libertarian candidate to win the Presidency in 2004 or 2008 by piling up a large Libertarian vote this year? In fact, Al Gore would be better for us as President because no one would be fooled into thinking he favors smaller government, as they might with George Bush. Bill Clinton has done us a service by showing people the true face of government and the way politicians abuse power. George Bush would also abuse power, but in a less obvious way.

Tom Curry of msnbc.com (affiliated with the MS-NBC TV network) publishes a nice article on the possibility that the campaign will fight the Federal Election Commission over the campaign finance laws. The article states the facts, quotes opposing opinions, and let's the reader decide for oneself. (The article is at http://www.msnbc.com/news/381798.asp.)

I am on a live 15-minute Internet broadcast with Tom Curry, who wrote yesterday's msnbc.com article. We cover the potential FEC suit, Social Security, and last year's bombing of Serbia. Although discussion of the FEC situation is new to me, the interview as a whole goes well. He does not betray an opinion one way or another on any of the issues.

I receive a message from Jim Merritt of California, telling me that he heard a brief radio commentary on the CBS Radio network by Dave Ross, whose Seattle show I had been on yesterday. Ross was talking about me, lamenting "the lackluster competition we might expect from Bush and Gore," and playing soundbites from yesterday's show. He said I'm attempting to get into the national presidential debates, and concluded, "What a debate that would be."

I have a 30-minute radio interview with John Quaintance on WXBQ in Johnson City, Tennessee. It is the first time we've talked since 1996. He begins by saying, "I don't know whether you know that you and the Libertarian Party have a great deal of support in this area." John was quite friendly in 1996; now he appears to be completely supportive, winding up the interview saying, "Good luck to you in your journey, hopefully all the way to the White House."

In the evening I have a 40-minute interview with Jim Dexter, the hard-working chair of the Utah LP, on KTKK in Salt Lake City. He does a terrific job hosting the show, conducting the interview, and talking with callers. Not surprisingly, all the callers are positive. One is a 23-year-old getting ready to vote for the first time. I ask him whether he wants to put 15% of his income into Social Security, and he says he has no hope of ever getting any of his money back from Social Security. I say that's one reason to vote Libertarian. I ask what he thinks of the War on Drugs. He says it's an utter failure. I say that's a second reason to vote Libertarian. I ask whether he would like government to be a good deal smaller so he could be free of the income tax. He's all for it. I say that makes three good reasons to vote Libertarian. He says he will.

I then say to the other listeners, you don't have to decide today whom you'll vote for seven months from now. But if you'd like to see these issues debated in the campaign, support me now with a few hours or a few dollars every month.

This will be a long day. I'm up at 5:30 to catch a 7:50 plane to Chicago.

The Illinois LP is holding its state convention today, and I arrive about an hour before the luncheon panel that will present three LP presidential hopefuls. While waiting, I sit in on National Director Steve Dasbach's workshop on organizing a local LP chapter. It is excellent information, well presented. Steve later tells me that Bill Winter (the LP's Communications Director) developed the material, and that it's presented at the LP's traveling "Success" seminars. From what I saw, these are valuable events that help people learn to do the necessary nuts and bolts work to make a local party successful.

The luncheon panel features 20-minute speeches by Don Gorman, Barry Hess, and me. It isn't one of my best talks, but I'm able to get my points across. Immediately afterward, Steve Givot drives me to the airport, where I head for Atlanta.

After a day off, mostly sleeping in an Atlanta hotel, I'm ready for bear again. I look forward to appearing on CNN's Talk Back Live show today.

My first interview is by phone with Lanigan & Malone on WMJI in Cleveland. They are generally sympathetic to my libertarian proposals, but they ask why they should trust me to be any different from the Republicans and Democrats who claim to be on their side. I tell them I've already qualified for federal matching funds and rejected them because I don't believe I should use their tax money to benefit my campaign. Each of them says, "Well, you've got my vote!"

We go from the Atlanta Constitution to WSB for an in-studio interview with Neal Boortz. Neal is a very popular talk-show host who joined the LP two years ago and has been a great friend to the party. I am surprised and flattered when he refers to me as "one of my personal heroes." We have an hour on the air, and it is the hour that his show goes out on a national network. The first 15 minutes or so, it seems that we do a lot of joking about various things, and I begin to get concerned that we're not covering the important issues. But both he and I bring it around to the serious stuff, and we get some excellent calls raising good questions.

Curses, foiled again!

I have a phone interview with Zack Coile, the political reporter for the San Francisco Examiner. He is writing an article about the AntiWar.com conference near San Francisco this weekend, at which I'll be speaking. He says the main focus of the article will be Pat Buchanan's appearance, but he wants to get some idea of what I'll be saying.

The day starts with a 20-minute interview on Good Day USA, a 250-station radio show. The guest hosts are Roberta Fascenelli and Mark Scheinbaum, neither of whom I recall having encountered before. They're interested in campaign finance reform. I tell them we're considering challenging the entire campaign finance system, and they aren't shocked in the least by this. Then when I give my usual 60-second summary of proposals for a Libertarian America, each of them interrupts to agree with my opposition to Social Security.

I receive an email from Hunter Schaeffer in Atlanta. Sometime back, he was listening to an Atlanta sports show, in which the host (for some strange reason) wondered aloud who the Libertarian presidential candidate is this year. Hunter contacted the show and he's arranged for me to do a 10-minute phone interview tomorrow.

Hunter also mentions that Neal Boortz received hundreds of emails and faxes from people thanking him for having me on his show Monday. Neal plans to replay the interview sometime in the next couple of weeks. Hunter says, "Neal even did a reenactment of your bit where you describe Gore chastising Bush about a woman's ‘right to choose,' saying how much he loved that part!"

A long day today. Two press interviews and five radio shows.

The first event at 8am is a one-hour radio interview with Jim Cates on WIBW in Topeka. In the studio with him is Dennis Hawver, Libertarian candidate for the 2nd Congressional district in Kansas. At one point the host asks Dennis about the Drug War. Dennis, who is a defense attorney, gives an eloquent statement on the harm that the Drug War has done to families and our civil liberties.

The host gives no indication of his own views. But near the end of the hour, he asks about foreign policy. I say I want to end the U.S. government's bullying of small countries, end having occupying troops in nearly a hundred countries as though we were the Roman Empire, end arming countries around the world, end the use of foreign aid as a way of bribing countries to temporarily cease their feuding, scale back the ability to annihilate any country in the world, and use private companies to develop the ability to defend ourselves against anyone's missile attacks. At the conclusion of my statement, the host says, "Amen to that."

Next I have a short interview on KATD in Concord, California. It is the "Jim and Susan" show, but today it's Stephen and Chuck. It seems to be a typical upbeat morning show, with plenty of humor. The hosts were given no background on me or the Libertarian Party, so they ask very basic questions. When I state my views on the Drug War, one of the hosts picks up the subject and adds comments of his own against the Drug War. At the end of the 15-minute interview, the same host says, "I will cast my vote for Harry Browne." As I can't tell their voices apart, I ask which one said that. It was Stephen.

I'm interviewed by phone by John Wildermuth of the San Francisco Chronicle. He's asking questions regarding the speech I'll be giving tomorrow at the AntiWar.com conference near San Francisco. We get along fine and he seems sympathetic to everything I say regarding foreign policy, but who knows what he'll publish?

The final interview is with Peter Weissbach, on whose syndicated show I appeared several times in 1996. Now he is on Seattle's big talk station, KVI. As always, he is very sympathetic, although he disagrees on some points.

I'm up at 4:30am, as I have to catch a plane to San Francisco at 7:20. I forced myself to go to bed at 11, so that I would get a decent night's sleep, but I awoke at 2 and couldn't get back to sleep. I hope to sleep on the plane, but the connection via Dallas includes two planes with no leg room and no ability to rest my head on the back of the seat. Still, I manage to doze off.

It seems my biggest vulnerability as a campaigner is my inability to get enough sleep sometimes. I almost always seem to overcome the problem when doing interviews. But I'm never sure how a speech will turn out when I've gone two nights in a row with short sleep. And that's the case today as I arrive in San Francisco just before my speech at the AntiWar.com conference. In addition, there are so many bad things to say about war that I'm not sure which ones I want to focus on. And I want to provide a perspective that doesn't duplicate what other speakers might have said, and I haven't heard any of their speeches.

After my talk, I return to my room to do a radio show with a San Francisco college station, but a technical problem at the college causes the interview to be postponed.

I do my best to stay awake until 10pm, to do a radio interview. It is one hour with Erskine Payton on Erskine Overnight on the Equity Network. I don't recall ever talking with him before, but within the first few minutes he refers to me as "Maybe the last hope for this country and the Constitution." As the interview proceeds, he seems to agree with my positions on everything. He later sends me a tape of the broadcast with a letter offering to help the campaign.

After a lazy day resting up in a San Francisco hotel, I start the day at 6am with a half-hour interview with Larry Hughes on WEOK, Poughkeepsie, New York. The host is very receptive and takes everything I say seriously, giving me an excellent platform to offer my proposals.

Then there is a 10-minute interview taped with Deb Lawler, a newswoman at WBZ, the big talk station in Boston. She pretty much gives me free rein, allowing me to get all my main points in.

I then fly to Denver, where I will be speaking at an investment conference tomorrow. On the way into the city from the airport, I phone Carl Wiglesworth at KTSA in San Antonio for an interview. Unfortunately, the schedule didn't allow enough time for me to get to the hotel first.

It is a 40-minute interview with Simon Rose, an Englishman, on KRFU, Columbia, Missouri. He is sympathetic to libertarian ideas but he has a hard time imagining how America would operate without the government's hooks into everything. I'm not able to reassure him, but he acknowledges that he agrees more with us than with the Democrats and Republicans. All the callers are Libertarians. Although this is unusual, it isn't a bad thing. They don't sound like clones of one another; each raises a different point that steers me into a new area. And the calls undoubtedly help reassure other listeners that we have widespread support and may well make a much bigger impact this year.

Next is a 15-minute interview with George Brown on WTAG in Worcester, Massachusetts. As with many hosts, he doesn't reveal any particular sympathy for what we're selling, but he does allow me to make all my points. And when I realize that the interview is suddenly at an end, he allows me to squeeze in the phone number and website address before cutting me off.

At noon, I'm the luncheon speaker at an investment conference. This is one of the very few non-campaign activities I'll have this year. At other investment conferences I'll be giving political speeches, but this one is strictly on investments.

In the evening, I have dinner with two dozen Libertarians, arranged by Bette Rose Smith, the Colorado state chair. We have a question period afterward. I close by asking whether anyone there believes the great majority of Americans would be better off in a Libertarian America. Everyone does. So I point out that this means we aren't faced with a political problem or an ideological problem; we're faced with a marketing problem. We have to find the proper words to show people that our product is superior, and we have to have the resources to transmit that message to people. What we don't know how to say today, we'll know how to say tomorrow. So we should be very optimistic about the long-run prospects for liberty in America.

My next interview is with Mark Silva of the Miami Herald. He is very friendly, but who knows what his real attitude is? He primarily wants to know how I hope to transmit the message. We discuss the avenues available to the campaign, the potential campaign budget, and the advertising possibilities. At the end, he asks whether there's anything else I'd like to get across. I say I'd like people to know there's a wealth of information about the issues at HarryBrowne.org, and also I want people to know that we want them to be free. He says, "That sounds like a good idea to me."

The schedule calls for my next show to be with Bob Smith on WXXI, a National Public Radio station in Rochester, New York. I remember my interviews with him during 1996. He is an unabashed liberal with an audience that mostly believes people starved in the streets until Franklin Roosevelt appeared and miraculously turned stones into bread. In 1996 he and his callers tied me up with discussions about all the terrible things that happened in America before government came to the rescue. The arguments were pointless and I finished each interview feeling that I had accomplished nothing.

My first interview today is with Bob Van Sternberg of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He is very friendly and we talk for about 30 minutes. He has spent time studying our website and getting background on the campaign. He seems to understand Libertarian political positions, and asks more about our campaign strategy.

However, when his article runs on April 6, there are several errors. Among them, he has my age at 70, instead of 66, mixes up some of my quotes, and confuses the Libertarian Party with my campaign. But he pretty much gets across the point that I stand for much, much smaller government.

The interview is published on ConservativeHQ.com later in the day. The article generally is quite informative. Among other points made, she says, "He believes the ‘secret' contribution list, much like secret ballots, would encourage more voters to give. But he doesn't foist his views on everyone, he explained, but believes that the practice of disclosure on all counts should be voluntary. Then, if voters feel strongly about disclosure and want to hold their representative accountable, they can seek out the candidate who is most candid with his or her finances at election time, he charged."

However, the following week I check his website and can find nothing on the subject or my appearance on his broadcast, which was to have been broadcast Sunday morning, April 1.

The day begins at home in Nashville with a typical morning radio show that features two comedians helping people start their days. I've been on such shows before, and I think they're very valuable. They reach people who would never dream of tuning into C-SPAN or CNN, or reading about politics.

Sometimes I run into comedians who want to make a joke out of everything I say. But in most cases, the hosts take the subject seriously because they want to be freer, just as other people do.

The 10-minute interview is a big success. The two hosts love what I have to say, I get the chance to deliver all the main points, and I mention the website and the 800 number twice. They invite me to return periodically throughout the campaign. I will.

Later, Mark Smith writes a message to our website: "All my life I have been exposed to politics, and it's never made sense to me. My dad use to make me listen to Rush Limbaugh all the time, and he honestly was down right irritating. I have always had a dislike for politics and political leaders, until I heard Harry Browne talk on the John Boy and Billy show the other morning. What he said made so much sense. I can't believe there is a candidate for president that actually feels the way I do. I was instantly motivated to spread the word to all my friends, family, and anybody else I thought would be moved as I was. You are getting my vote, and I will continue to enlighten new people to your movement."

Later, Brian Thomson, who heard the show in Georgia, writes: "John Boy and Billy's audience generally consists of classic rock fans and NASCAR fans. Their audience is also generally not very interested in politics. Julie, one of my friends at work who heard the interview, said that she would register to vote now, just so she could vote for Harry Browne. She said that ‘Harry made a lot of sense, and he said things in ways that I have always thought about them.' And to top it off, she asked me for a copy of ‘The Great Libertarian Offer' video, and the ‘Harry Browne Tabloid.' Before the interview, she had not been interested in looking at either of them! Thousands of non-political people, who never listen to talk radio, heard your message this morning. ‘The Big Show' is broadcast on over 90 FM stations, and is even available on Direct-TV audio throughout Japan."

Another e-mail (signed only "Halo") says: "I first heard of you and your party this morning on the radio and for the first time I actually liked what I heard. It's the same stuff I have been saying all along!!!! I'm 18 years old and never thought of voting, but now I feel as though I can help make a change for the better. You got my vote Harry!! GOOD LUCK!!!"

After "The Big Show" I catch a plane to Philadelphia. Naturally, the flight goes west from Nashville to Memphis, before going east to Philadelphia. But I manage to get exit-row seats for the whole way, which allows me to stretch my legs and take a nap.

Laura Carno picks me up at the Philadelphia airport and takes me to King of Prussia for the Pennsylvania LP convention. There is an early-evening reception.

Later in the evening, Laura drives me to a TV station in Philadelphia for an appearance on Hannity & Colmes on the Fox TV News Network. This is about my sixth appearance on their show, and they are always good to me. Tonight Alan Colmes begins by asking, "If you're elected President, what will you do on your first day in office?" I'm surprised by the question; it's as though it was a planted question. I of course say I'll pardon every non-violent drug prisoner in federal prison.

Sean Hannity interrupts, as I knew he would, to say "Harry, you never take my advice. That's where you will always lose with the American people. I've debated you a hundred times on this and I don't want to go down that road. You stay lock stock on that, you lose 80% of the American people, Harry. They don't want to hear anything else you have to say."

I reply, "Five years ago I would have agreed with you even though I would not have changed my stand on it, of course. But today, the American people are coming around on this so fast it's making your head swim. Just go outside the studio and ask the first five people you meet, what do you think of the War on Drugs? ‘Oh, it's a failure. Oh, God, it's a joke.'"

He says, "I agree it's a failure . . ." and then goes on to say we must work harder to make it succeed.

As the segment ends and the show heads to a break, I hear Sean Hannity say regretfully, "I didn't really want to get into that subject again." I suspect that they'll have me back again soon to talk about other aspects of the campaign.