April 15, 2007



Capitol Notebook: Presidential candidate Duncan Hunter brings his issues to Montgomery


The vast field of presidential candidates coming to Alabama is providing not only a wealth of choices for voters, but a wealth of information about issues they might not otherwise hear discussed.

That's the case with Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter of California.

Hunter, who hasn't garnered the headlines of a Rudy Giuliani or John McCain, spoke to the Alabama Federation of Republican Women last week, where he presented himself as the choice for conservative voters.

Although his speech addressed many much-discussed conservative topics, including military strength, border security and conservative judicial nominees, Hunter used these topics to discuss issues and events that haven't received much attention in the presidential race.

He's concerned about China becoming the next superpower, and particularly concerned about the country's use of a missile to shoot down one of its obsolete weather satellites Jan. 11.

"That really signaled the start of a military competition in space between the United States and China whether we want it or not," he said after his Wednesday night speech.

The U.S. and the Soviet Union dropped this method of downing old satellites in the 1980s because it created debris fields in space.

The Los Angeles Times carried a story about the incident in January, but the foreign media, especially the Canadian press, apparently gave it much more attention than American media.

He also noted that few American companies manufacture certain key military components, with the country relying heavily on companies overseas to supply equipment such as a part used in bomb guidance systems.

Hunter's approach in addressing fresh issues isn't uncommon among less well-known candidates trying to get their name in front of voters, said William Stewart, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Alabama. It might not translate into votes, but the public benefits by learning about an issue they might have otherwise missed.

"That's one of the advantages of these different candidates coming to Alabama," Stewart said.

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