Chapter 115

115
NATIONAL TELEVISION, MARTHA STRATTON CAMPAIGN

Martha's first televised message was paid for by the Stratton for President Political Action Fund. She declined the idea that she should answer questions or 'act like she already knew all about everything.' Instead, she thought that a short, get-acquainted message would be best. The glowingly positive nationwide response proved her right.

"What do you expect me to say? Make promises? You all know who I am. You already know everything about me."

"This gentlemen right here in front asked me what I intend to do with the interest rebate treaty for our international industrialization loan program. This is the kind of thing that makes political campaigns so useless. First off. I don't know any more about that than the President we have now does. Second, I'm honest enough to say so. I'll do what everyone else does, and that is listen to all the sides, then make a decision. But see right here is where we come to some differences."

"I have enough votes to win this election just on account of who I am. I don't have to make any back room promises or any dirty little deals with anybody for campaign contributions or endorsements. And that is the third thing. If you vote for me, and I really hope you will, you'll be voting for the woman standing right before you. When I make a decision on that industrial interest thing, I will still be the woman standing right before you, not someone paying back favors. I swear that I will be myself. I swear that I will act in the interests of the country as I see them at all times. More than that I cannot promise!"

"That leaves the question of 'Who is this woman standing before you?' Well, I can answer that the best by telling you some more truth about Martha Stratton. I am not Albert Einstein. I never had a college education but I've got a lot of common sense. I have found that I can figure out just about anything if I just sit down and think about it for a while. I can pretty well tell if someone is lying to me. I can remember that all of us have a higher purpose than to be fretting over most of the stuff that fills our lives. We can do better than we're doing now!"

"I want to tell you that I've made some mistakes. After I made 'em I had to live with them day by day until I got squared away enough to make some changes. If you need a President who never made a mistake, then I'm probably not your woman."

"I know what it's like to live every day with a sense of doom and gloom. I've had that in my personal life. But what about our whole nation? Aren't we spending a lot of our time in the same kind of doom and gloom? Aren't we always worrying about one thing or another? I think it's time to leave that behind! We are the leaders of the world in more things than I could name. Haven't we been worryin' when we should have been leading? I will work to make this a country of spiritual warriors! And by that I don't mean for us all to join the UCFC. I mean for all of us to have a little more happiness and respect in our lives! What are we waiting for?"