Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich will be stopping briefly in Madison this evening as part of a three day, 11-city tour to formally announce his presidential campaign.
He will arrive in Madison at 8 p.m. and is expected to speak for five to 10 minutes at the Wisconsin Aviation Terminal, 3606 Corben Ct., and then answer questions for another half an hour.
Frank Harris, chairman for the UW-Madison College Republicans, said Kucinich might benefit from time spent on campus.
\It is very crucial for him to take the extra hour to come to campus, especially in Madison. It's one of the more liberal campuses; he could win over a lot of people ,"" said Harris. ""Granted he is under a time constraint, but I think it is a necessity for him to come to campus.""
Madison is Kucinich's last stop on Monday. He resumes his tour with a stop in Albuquerque at 9 a.m.Tuesday morning.
Dan Cassanova, head of Students for Kucinich, said that delaying his visit in Madison is not possible during this type of tour.
Kucinich is visiting 11 cities in three days, ""so he doesn't have much time to get into the campus,"" said Cassanova.
""I think people understand that when you do a tour like this, this is what you have to do. I think he will be back in a couple of weeks to speak downtown,"" he added.
Ann Seidl, Special Events Coordinator for the Wisconsin for Kucinich campaign also noted that Kucinich does not have as much time as the other candidates to tour.
""Some of the other candidates don't have jobs right now, and they can spend all of their time on the road,"" said Seidl.
""Dennis is an incredibly hardworking congressman. Dennis has a 94 percent attendance record. He refuses to miss any votes that he can be present for,"" Seidl added.
As a candidate for the presidency, Kucinich's goals include repealing the Patriot Act, stopping the privatization of health care, canceling the North American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization and installing universal health care.
""His strength is that he stands out with his progressive voice. Electability is his weakness. He is a courageous politician and sometimes they don't do as well,"" said Ryan Grady, chairman of the College Democrats. ""Maybe we will find that people like those who draw lines and find that admirable.""
""He has an utopianistic vision for the U.S. which is all good and fine if we lived in a perfect world, but we don't,"" Harris said.
