Keyes leads in Yahoo poll

A recent national poll indicates that, were the presidential election
held today, Alan Keyes would beat Al Gore to the Oval Office by one
percent of the vote.

Yahoo.com's poll began Feb. 1,
and as of yesterday more than 24,000 participants placed Alan Keyes, Al
Gore and John McCain as the top three contenders respectively, although
McCain's 16 percent comes no where near the 31 percent earned by Keyes,
the mock-election's winner.

The poll comes on the heels of the New Hampshire Republican primary
in which Keyes placed fourth with only six percent of the vote.
However, despite the apparent setback, the outspoken, never-say-die
candidate promises to press on to South Carolina. Some have asked why
he continues despite generally poor media coverage and seemingly steep
odds against his winning the Republican nomination. His response?

"Because people can't make a choice they're not given."

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Republican presidential candidate Alan Keyes

Keyes believes his presidency would be the closest thing to a cure
for what many Americans believe is a morally diseased nation.

In endorsing Keyes, David Schippers, former lead counsel for the
House Judiciary Committee's investigation and impeachment of President
Clinton, said, "A leader is needed. One who can inspire both Congress
and the people. One who possesses the honesty to say exactly what he
thinks, the integrity to stick by his code regardless of the
consequences, and the courage to face down the enemies of the Republic,
foreign and domestic."

Diplomat, presidential aide, Harvard Ph.D., author, talk radio host,
husband, father and /news/archives.asp?ARCHIVE_ID=34WorldNetDaily exclusive columnist,
Alan Keyes is running on a wave of patriotic revival that he has helped
create.

The only black candidate, Keyes' fiery delivery is reminiscent of
revival sermons preached under a tent packed to overflowing. His message
of morality resonates through every hall that offers its podium.
Interestingly, liberals and conservatives alike marvel at both his
oratorical skills and his reasoning.

This 49-year old former Reagan administration official truly believes
what he says to his rapt audiences across the United States: Income tax
and abortion are the "slavery of our time;" affirmative action
"patronizes American blacks, women and others by presuming that they
cannot succeed on their own;" and the United Nations is "a source of
pernicious and dangerously naïve globalist dreams."

As one observer aptly noted, Keyes is "hard-core."

And he is determined not to be taken lightly. Facetiously called "a
complicated man" by one Washington Post writer, the former ambassador to
the United Nations Economic and Social Council repeatedly notes that the
goal of an election is not to "pick the winner."

"This is not some kind of stupid horse race where we're trying to
pick the winner," Keyes has said. "The voters are supposed to determine
the winner, not pick the winner. And there's a big difference there.
We're not running in some sort of race to see who finishes first. We
ought to be involved in a deliberative discussion that results in a
choice that is going to be good for America. And if you believe that
you offer that choice, and you're the best choice the country can make,
I think you have an obligation to stand forward, regardless of what you
think your chances are -- because people can't make a choice they're not
given."

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Indeed, Keyes represents the antithesis of the ubiquitous
double-talking politician. A candidate who always says what he means, he
does not mince words, nor are his positions ever unclear or ambiguous.

While campaigning in New Hampshire, Keyes visited an elementary
school library where he asked fifth-grade students this question: From
where do humans receive their inalienable rights to life, liberty and
happiness?

Answers naming the Bill of Rights, government, and the Constitution
as the origin of human rights were offered by the young audience, but
Keyes waited for the answer he sought.

"The rights come from God," said one girl. Bingo.

It is from that basic belief that Keyes derives his stance on
abortion, which he says is not a right protected by the Declaration of
Independence or Constitution.

"If the Declaration of Independence states our creed, there can be no
right to abortion, since it means denying the most fundamental right of
all, to human offspring in the womb," says Keyes. "The Declaration
states plainly that we are all created equal, endowed by our Creator
with our human rights.

"But if human beings can decide who is human and who is not, the
doctrine of God-given rights is utterly corrupted. Abortion is the
unjust taking of a human life and a breach of the fundamental principles
of our public moral creed," he continues.

In his most recent WorldNetDaily column,
Keyes' words come alive with the passion so often displayed in his
public speeches.

"As our families decay, as our concept of sexual responsibility
corrupts, as we become increasingly numbed to the massive, horrific
destruction of unborn children in the womb, and as we become
increasingly habituated to the loss of control of ourselves, our money
and our schools, we approach a moment in which we will either act as a
people to return to moral health, or we will acquiesce in the unraveling
of the fabric of liberty. We are reaching a crisis of self-government
which, if not effectively addressed, will mean the end of our very
capacity as a people to enjoy the times of normal self-government."

While the seriousness of his message often leaves audiences moved to
total silence, this powerhouse speaker, writer and activist does have a
lighter side. During a "Renewing America" rally just prior to the Iowa
caucuses, Keyes showed his faith in his fellow citizens by leaping into
a mosh pit -- a crowd of people in front of the stage who catch
performers jumping into the audience.

His "Gen-X" move earned Keyes a rare moment in the media and the
label "undignified" by Republican candidate Gary Bauer, who later fell
off the back of a stage in New Hampshire while flipping pancakes on the
campaign trail.

But lack of media attention has not stopped Keyes' message from being
heard, as proven by his overwhelming popularity in Internet polls.
Vote.com, which questions America on
everything from presidential candidates to Golden Globe nominees,
consistently shows Alan Keyes as the far-and-away winner of every
televised Republican presidential debate. The website was created by
pollster Dick Morris and is funded by two of the nation's leading
anti-tobacco lawyers -- not the conservative-dominated arena some might
expect Keyes to do well in.

"The campaign is not based on finishes," Keyes said in Bedford, N.H.
"The campaign is based on the need to carry this message of moral
priorities -- wherever there are people in the country willing to work
for it. ... If the people of New Hampshire don't make the right choice,
why does that mean the people of South Carolina should be deprived of
the opportunity?"

Julie Foster is a staff
reporter for WorldNetDaily