Candidate details:
The "J." is for Joseph. I was born an American citizen, on a British Air Force base, where my father was stationed as a U.S. Air Force officer. Most of my growing up occurred in Gaithersburg and Montgomery Village, Maryland. I tend to be wordy in writing, but I tend not to do a lot of talking. I am married to a wonderful woman named Beth. She is my happiness. We have, at the time of this writing, been married between 15 and 16 months. We share our home with three dogs, a cat, and a bird. We have no children and don't intend to get any. We are hard working folk. I currently work at two jobs and Beth works at one. We're hoping to retire to New Hampshire, and we'd like for that to happen long before we are too old to truly enjoy it.

Impetus:
It occurred to me, on October 17th of this year, that I will be old enough to qualify for the presidency for the first time in the 2008 election. This is something I had long been aware of, but had long ago put out of my mind as being too "in the future" to be concerned with. On the weekend in question, Beth and I were doing a lot of driving around on a mini-vacation in New Hampshire. We were listening a lot to discussions of the Bush vs. Kerry political campaign on the radio and we were discussing politics quite a bit. And so, having stumbled upon the realization that I would be age-qualified in 2008, and also being aware that a whole new election cycle was just around the corner, I figured I might as well announce my candidacy on the day after the 2004 election. According to a couple of perpetual calendars I checked on the web, that will give me a candidacy lasting 4 years and one day. Given that much time, I figure I'll be able to either accomplish my goals or fall decisively short. And on the morning of November 5, 2008 my campaigning will be finished, whether I win or lose. Simple, finite, and potentially important.

Basic Tenet:
If you choose not to vote, you have no business complaining. This is a firmly held belief I have held for as long as I can remember considering it. This is especially important for presidential elections. In any election you vote in, there are four standard potential outcomes:

• First, the candidate you vote for wins and does everything you expect and hope for. This is ideal. If this happens to you, congratulations! You may be the first of your kind. Bully for you! You have nothing to complain about. Smile! Be happy! No complaining, though.... You actually got what you wanted.
• Second, the candidate you vote for wins and fails you. The failure could be major or minor. But it's a failure nonetheless. This gives you the right to complain: "Well, I voted for him, but he didn't do what I elected him to do." This is a pretty likely outcome. Welcome to representative democracy. We hope you'll feel at home.
• Third, a candidate you didn't vote for wins and does things you feared. Again, a pretty likely outcome that gives you every right to complain. "I knew this would happen. That's why I didn't vote for him." Again, welcome. You are not alone.
• Fourth, a candidate you didn't vote for wins and ends up satisfying you beyond your expectations. This is nearly as unlikely as the first possibility. You may be happier than you expected, but you've still earned the right to complain: "The guy I voted for would've done even better!" But congratulations to you. You're really doing pretty well for yourself.

When you don't vote, you effectively surrender your right to complain. The message you send by not voting is not, as you might rationalize, that you don't believe in either of the major party candidates. Instead, the message you send is that you have absolute faith in the decision making of your fellow citizens and that you have absolute faith that the candidate they choose will be infallible and make all of the correct decisions. If this is your position, I envy you. To be able to put that much trust in so many others must be blissful. You must have a perfect life!

If this is not your position, however, what I offer is an alternative.

The candidacy:
Please understand that this candidacy is not an attempt at getting me elected to the presidency. The presidency is not a job I want. It's been quite a lot of years since I was naïve enough to believe the job is in any way desirable. To want it is, at least to some degree, insane. Nor am I really interested in campaigning for the job. I'm not a salesman by nature. To try to convince anyone that I should be elected would be repugnant to my nature, as (in my world view) it would be dishonest. I'm not interested in that. What does interest me is the possibility of making a broader segment of the population feel a part of the system. Having the right to vote is really a fairly extraordinary privilege. I believe it's also a fairly serious responsibility. And while I am not a radical revolutionist (or a radical revolutionary), I do hold certain political views that are a bit off the radar of your standard American politician. I am not a politician. Let's make sure that statement has been made, bluntly. I have a very vague recollection of having been elected to the student council when I was in first or second or third grade, and I have a very vague recollection of having attended one student council meeting. However, as I said, these are very vague recollections--so much so that I would not testify to their accuracy in a court of law. Beyond that, I have had no political career. I have not run for any office since. In fact, I despise the process of hunting for a new job because I just don't enjoy trying to sell myself to anyone.

So why would you vote for me? For starters, let's suppose that you are disillusioned by our democracy. Suppose you've lived your life watching as politicians jockeyed for position against other politicians in an effort to win elections. Suppose you've never seen a candidate for any public office in whom you could truly place your trust. Suppose you recognize that the system was designed (or, in any case, has evolved) in such a way that it virtually guarantees that at the end of the day your elected officials (from the members of your school board right on up to the president of your country) are merely the more politically adept bozos from a broader pool of bozos.

Let's suppose that you are disillusioned by our political system. Suppose you understand that the two party system does not really serve anyone very well. It's a bad idea and you know it, but you feel powerless to do anything to stop it. Sure, you could vote for a third party candidate. But suppose you know deep in your heart and deep in your bones that such a vote is a wasted vote. Nobody takes third party candidates seriously (except, possibly, those candidates themselves). Everybody knows the presidential election will be won by a Democrat or a Republican. Suppose you are part of this "Everybody". But suppose you're sick of it. Suppose you don't believe either of those guys is fit for the job. Suppose you understand that your choice--assuming you choose to vote at all--comes down to the lesser of two evils.

I'm a Voter. I vote when I have a chance, and I will vote again in 2008. I can pretty much guarantee that I won't vote for myself for President in 2008. As I said, I am a Voter (with a capital "V"). I find it important for my own conscience that I be a part of the election process--and for me, that means casting ballots to keep (or to get) the bad guys out of office. That's what it's always come down to for me. Since I became aware of the political situation in this country (the 1980 election), I have seen a total of two candidates for the presidency who I thought were worthy of my vote on their own merits. Note: I'm not just talking about the major party nominees here. I'm talking about the entire pool of candidates. Through seven Presidential elections, I've only felt that two candidates were worthy of support for what they truly represented, as opposed to how much worse I would feel about merely standing by and letting the other guy win. That's a pretty sad state of affairs.

If you are a Voter, please continue to vote. Unless something I say truly convinces you that I am the right candidate for you, your vote is not one I want. Invest it as if I am not an issue. My candidacy is truly intended for people who are Non-Voters.

If you are a Non-Voter, yours is the vote I seek. I'm interested in sending a message to whoever gets elected. That message: There are tens of millions of people who are eligible to vote, who traditionally choose not to vote. These non-votes should not be taken as an indication of true apathy. They should not be taken as an indication of acceptance. They should be taken instead as an indication of a feeling of helplessness.

If you feel as if your vote doesn't count, you feel that way because that's the way the system is set up. In point of fact, your vote almost never counts. This is the case for all of us Voters, and--despite the propaganda to the contrary--it was just as much the case in 2000 and in 2004 as in any other year. However, the "almost" in "your vote almost never counts" becomes an "absolutely" when you choose not to vote. If you choose not to vote, you voluntarily silence yourself in our great democratic society. Instead of choosing that path, I ask that you choose to vote. I'm interested in seeing a movement started, and I am merely lending my name to that movement. Really, a vote for yourself or a vote for your wife (or husband or mother or teacher or friend) is just as meaningful as a vote for me. It sends a message...that you don't really believe in either of the bozos who stand a realistic chance of winning and that you think we can (and should) do better. So why am I announcing my candidacy? My hope is that by putting a name out there (and mine is the only one I'm really authorized to offer), I can make it easier for the voiceless to gain a voice.

Aspirations:
As stated above, I do not aspire to the presidency. If this candidacy were to somehow gain so much momentum as to make my election a realistic possibility, that would become a problem to be dealt with rather than a cause for celebration.

Here, instead, is a list of small victories that I think would be cause for celebration:

• Getting votes from people who would not otherwise have voted, particularly if it's a significant number.
• Getting on the ballot, in any state, in several states, or in all 50 states.
• Getting delegates to the electoral college.
• Seeing "Louis J. Cassorla is running for president" signs along the side of the road.
• Getting a call or an e-mail from someone I know saying, "I just saw someone wearing a 'Louis J. Cassorla is running for president' button. What's that all about?"
• Getting interviewed by journalists covering the American political scene; whether for a school/local/national newspaper, magazine, television or radio program, or web site.
• Learning more about the intricacies of the political system--or helping others to learn more, including whether write-in votes are allowed in all voting districts throughout the country or whether there is a requirement anywhere that candidates must be listed on the ballot, whether write-in candidates must be registered, how delegates to the electoral college are appointed, etc.,....
• Receiving invitations to speak to groups of concerned citizens.

This is intended to be the grass-rootsiest campaign possible. My hope is that it can be a force for positive change in this country and that it can be such without requiring the raising of millions of dollars in contribution money. Strange as this may seem, I don't want monetary contributions to the campaign. Monetary contributions cause hassles and entanglements. I won't seek government funds. I hope this campaign can become a significant phenomenon based solely on the willing participation of civic-minded, responsible Americans trying to serve their country by supporting the ideals of democracy rather than serving the political status quo.