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A new CNN/Gallup poll released Wednesday revealed that Jimmy Baker, a Vietnam veteran and former construction worker living under Route 95, has begun to stage a comeback in the hearts and minds of voters still undecided on which candidate to support in the 2008 presidential election.
"He just came out of nowhere," said Rhonda Jameson, a senior political analyst working for the Providence Journal. "This is really a testament to the power of his message, as well as of grassroots activism. All he does is sit outside Xtreme Pizza & Wings begging for change, and suddenly he's steamrolling Clinton by eight points in national surveys."
Baker's campaign got its explosive start just two weeks ago, when Brown students noticed the sign he was holding over his head as he leaned half-drunkenly against the window outside Starbucks.
"From what I remember, it said, 'Change needed to feed my family,'" said Megan Speara '10, a registered independent hailing from New Hampshire. "And it made me think, 'Why has no other candidate thought about how we need change in America?' This man must be our next president."
Leading candidates in the Democratic and Republican parties were quick to respond to Baker's astronomical rise in support, first at Brown and then nationwide. "I = Change!" said Illinois Senator Barack Obama in an e-mail sent to the Noser. "I can change what needs changing in an unchanged administration." New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton was quick to rebut, however, releasing a statement last week arguing that "Mr. Obama will only change the way we change things that need to be changed. I will actually change the changes in the ways we should be changing things."
Arizona Senator John McCain, meanwhile, dismissed the arguments of his competitors in a speech given at Bob Jones University two days ago. "Change? I can change," he said. "Hell, I am change. I change what I think about things all the time. What do you think? I agree."Former New York City Mayor and former candidate Rudy Giuliani was skeptical about Romney's claims, however, announcing in a recent interview, "Change change change change. Change? Change! 9/11."
Overwhelmingly, voters indicated in the poll that Baker is the candidate most willing to ask questions that matter to them. "Do you have any change? Do any of you?" Baker said at a recent press conference. Americans, it seems, will have to continue to ponder the question as the nationwide election draws nearer.
