Michael Smith hopes guest role at forum will buoy presidential bid

Corvallis' homegrown presidential candidate has been invited to an election forum in New York City with such political luminaries as Newt Gingrich and Mario Cuomo. But he'll have to wait a little longer for his chance to address the nation.

Michael Smith, who has registered as a GOP candidate for the nation's highest office in the 2008 primaries, was invited to be a guest Wednesday at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science aand Art, along with the other 114 declared candidates.

With Tim Russert of "Meet the Press" as moderator, Republican Gingrich, a former speaker of the House who is widely expected to declare his own presidential bid, and Democrat Cuomo, a former New York governor whose name is often put forward as a possible candidate, will address issues likely to come up in the 2008 campaign.

"There may be an opportunity to ask questions from the floor, and if that arises I'll probably take advantage of that," Smith said.

"If there's an opportunity to network and make a few connections and say, 'Gee, Mr. Russert, why don't you invite some of the more obscure candidates on "Meet the Press,"' I'll take advantage of that, too."

The 45-year-old Hewlett-Packard employee has been waging a low-key campaign for the presidency for about a year now, mostly through his Web site, appearances at county fairs and the occasional newspaper or radio interview.

Smith sees himself as a moderate Republican in the party's traditional mold, someone who supports limited government, individual liberty and individual responsibility. He'd like to see his party steer clear of hot-button social issues such as gay marriage and flag-burning and focus on more substantive policy questions.

Events such as the Cooper Union forum offer a chance to raise his profile a little bit, even if he'll be sitting in the audience and not on the podium. But there is a possibility of a second forum where lesser-known candidates will get a chance to present their views.

"The two people speaking that night will throw out the challenge" to all candidates to discuss campaign issues, said Claire McCarthy, a Cooper Union spokeswoman.

If there's enough interest, she said, "we'll provide the forum."

Smith's aim is to qualify for the Oregon ballot in next year's Republican primary. He's hoping to win enough votes to name a few delegates to the party's national convention, which he believes would give him the standing to take some role in shaping the party's official platform.

"Back in 2000, the last time the Republicans had a contested primary, by the time the process got all the way out to Oregon, everybody had dropped out except for George Bush and Alan Keyes. Keyes did not run a particularly active campaign here, but he still drew about 14 percent of the vote," Smith said.

"If I can poll, say, 10 percent, that gets me a couple of delegates and a chance to attend the big event."

He'll get an early chance to test his appeal among Oregon voters next weekend at the Dorchester Conference, an annual political gathering in Seaside. Smith plans to have a booth at the event, where he'll pass out "I like Mike" stickers and campaign brochures and toss his hat in the ring for a straw poll on the 2008 presidential race.

"My hope would be that I can sway a few people and demonstrate that that 10 percent number is a good target," he said.

Bennett Hall is the business editor for the Gazette-Times. He can be reached at 758-9529 or bennett.hall@lee.net.

Quick fact

There are 115 declared candidates for president in the 2008 election, including Mike Smith from Corvallis.

On the net

Wednesday's Cooper Union forum on issues in the 2008 presidential campaign will be broadcast live on the Internet beginning at 3:30 p.m. local time at www.americansolutions.com, Newt Gingrich's Web site. More information about Smith's campaign is available online at www.smithforpresident.com.