[Steve Schulin]

I've listened to Alan in many settings over the years,and I never got the same impression that you apparently did. For example, in the conference call on the night of the Florida primary, one of the callers asked him to comment on the statement in one of the biggest Florida daily newspapers that morning which indicated that the only GOP candidates still in the race were the ones mentioned in the story. Keyes didn't cite racism in his comments. What he said was "The big liberal newspapers have been lying about important things for years. So why should anyone be surprised when these papers lie about any matter on any given day?"

I see you also posted link to a news story about Keyes and reparations. I recall seeing similar story during that 2004 period, and I too was nonplussed. But I now understand that the reporting was quite misleading. The story is based not on some policy proposal ever made by Keyes, but on his thoughtful reply to a question posed by a reporter. This part of his answer was not a reparations plan, but a reinforcement of his opinion on the income tax system. Here's the flow of his answer:

* No reparations are warranted.

* If reparations were warranted, there's a much better way to do it than giving cash awards (and this is where he described the tax amnesty idea which your article describes).

* And once the rest of the people saw the economic boom unleashed by the elimination of income taxes for this one group, there would be quick elimination of federal income tax system for all.

[ari-freedom]

I remember him when he first ran...in 96 I think. He had some really good things to say and done some good thing...

then he turned into this nader like perpetual candidate that doesn’t realize why he is totally unelectable and blames everyone for his loss.