Leg Infection Lays Up Presidential Candidate in Sacramento Hospital
By George Warren
Sacramento News 10
Saturday, 19 January 2008

Brian Moore arrived in California last weekend for a half dozen political forums, but instead the campaign trail led straight to the hospital.

Moore, 64, is one of seven candidates running in the California primary on the Peace and Freedom party ticket. He's one of 28 so-called "minor party" candidates on the February ballot.

Moore is actually a member of the Socialist Party USA, but was invited to run as a Peace and Freedom candidate in California because the socialists didn't qualify for the ballot.

Moore described the challenges of running as a minor party candidate.

"If you're not a millionaire, the political pundits don't give you a chance," he lamented.

Moore spoke to News10 from his bed at Sutter General Hospital, where he hoped to be released by the end of the weekend.

"When I came in Saturday morning, it was all red and inflammed," Moore said of the leg infection that forced him to cancel a half-dozen appearances.

For most of his stay, even Moore's nurse didn't know she was treating a presidential candidate.

"It would be pretty cool if some day I could brag about caring for the President," Sutter nurse Liza Stefani said.

Although a week in the hospital is a pretty big bump in the road for a presidential candidate, Moore used the opportunity to pitch universal health care.

"No way would I be here without health insurance," Moore said.

His next test comes Monday in Vermont, where he must produce 1,000 signatures to qualify for the primary ballot.

Moore is skipping entirely states with more stringent qualification requirements and said if he's lucky, his name will appear on ballots in 25 states in November.

Moore harbors no illusions about his chances of actually winning the White House. He views his candidacy as an opportunity to share his socialist ideals.

"Power to the people," he said with a smile.

This story can be found at www.news10.net.