Keyes Weighs In On Republican Race

We haven't seen him in many debates this time around. But republican Alan Keyes is making his third run for the White House. The former assistant secretary of state during the Reagan administration was in Little Rock last night. The well-known conservative showed up at the Clinton School of Public Service to speak on higher education. But before that he talked to reporters about how the race for the republican nomination is shaping up this year. And he's not too pleased. In fact, he calls this year's debate performance among republicans lackluster. "A lot of people are looking at what's available and saying we don't really have a good choice, the best choices are not out there. And that's part of the reason that I got involved," he said. His presidential runs in 1996 and 2000 garnered plenty of attention. But so far, his 2008 run has kept him close to the bottom of the polls and off television for the most part. So his campaign is more grass roots.The Maryland man who also served as an ambassador to a United Nations council isn't happy with the early start to the 2008 race, or the rush by states across the country to move up their primary dates, many to February. "Obviously what you would really want to do if you were caring about the people of this country, is make sure you scheduled the election in such a way that people would have a chance to learn, be informed about the candidates," he told us. As for former governor Mike Huckabee, Keyes respects him. "I think governor Huckabee represents those candidates who are more serious, I think, about their approach to these moral questions," he said. But he thinks most candidates view morality as a personal choice as opposed to a foundation for government. And he hopes voters will look hard at what each candidate stands for and make informed decisions. "They have to stop allowing media people, money people, to decide like the old Soviet Polit-bureau, who the slate of candidates will be," he said.