Walter Williams for President

This cartoon made the rounds a little over a week ago, encouraging my professor Walter Williams to run for president. Today, my dad sent me this Washington Times article continuing that theme:

Conservative economist Walter E. Williams says he's flattered at being urged to seek the 2008 Republican presidential nomination -- even if the draft committee is headed by a cartoon duck.

The "Mallard Fillmore" comic strip has spent the past two weeks promoting the George Mason University economics professor as a 2008 candidate -- with some success, judging from Mr. Williams' e-mail in-box.

"I've been inundated," the 70-year-old Mr. Williams said of responses to cartoonist Bruce Tinsley's strip, which has prominently featured Mr. Williams' e-mail address (wwilliam@gmu.edu). "I've only gotten one or two ugly [e-mails], and I've gotten hundreds" of positive messages.

A popular syndicated columnist who often fills in for Rush Limbaugh when the top talk-radio host is on vacation, Mr. Williams said in a telephone interview that he was surprised when Mr. Tinsley began a series of "Draft Walter Williams" cartoons Jan. 29.

"I found it very funny, and I found it quite flattering as well," said Mr. Williams, whose column appears in The Washington Times, as does the "Mallard Fillmore" strip.

The idea for the series was simple, Mr. Tinsley said: Mr. Williams is "an actual conservative, and who better to run for elective office than somebody who's been writing his ideas down for us to read for years? He can't waffle. Also, Adam Smith and Bill Buckley weren't available."

"I personally think that if we chose the president of the United States at random, we'd get a better president than any president since Ronald Reagan," said Mr. Williams.

The biggest obstacle to his own candidacy, Mr. Williams said, is his wife of 47 years, Conchetta.

"She said that if I ever thought about it seriously, she'd assassinate me," he said.

How appropriate that Mallard Fillmore began his campaign on Milton Friedman Day! Mallard's campaign has been running almost two weeks now. You can see the rest of the cartoons here: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 and the continuation of them here.