Sports Handicapper Gambles on Becoming President

(Nov. 4) -- Now that the Democrats have suffered a historic defeat on election day, a sports handicapper is doubling down on his goal of becoming President in 2012.

Wayne Allyn Root is a well-known Vegas sports handicapper and the current front runner to be the Libertarian Party's nominee for the 2012 presidential race after being the running mate to 2008 nominee Bob Barr.

He may seem a long shot, but Root believes that enough Americans would embrace the Libertarian philosophy if they were exposed to it -- and to him.

"The system is tilted toward two parties," he told AOL News. "Especially when you have to spend so much time and money just for ballot access. During 2008, around July and August, we had 6 to 7 percent of the vote. For some reason, we weren't included in the presidential debates, and if we had been, I think things would have tilted in our direction."

Root points to England, where a third-party candidate was able to make an impact in the most recent election based on a great debate performance.

"They do things differently there, but he's now, for all intents and purposes, the vice president of England," Root said enthusiastically.

Root believes the Libertarians could have the same effect stateside if the party is included in any of the 2012 debates, which will most likely include Barack Obama, his former college classmate at Columbia University.

"I never knew him," he said. "Which is kind of strange considering we were both poli sci and prelaw. There were maybe 700 students with that major and emphasis. I've asked around and not a single student remembers him. However, Columbia University claims he attended with me and I'll take their word for it."

Over the years, Root has built up a rather diverse resume as an author, TV personality and producer. In fact, he's one of the producers of the popular Travel Channel series "Ghost Adventures," and also produced and hosted King of Vegas for Spike TV. He is also the author of 7 books- including his latest, "The Conscience of a Libertarian: Empowering the Citizen Revolution with God, Guns, Gold & Tax Cuts."

However, he may be best known for his work as a sports handicapper.

"People try to marginalize me because of that, but I don't gamble myself. I pick the points. What I do is no different than being a stock analyst," he said. "On the other hand, America is the biggest gambling nation in the world -- especially when it comes to gambling on small-business creation. It's the risk-taking entrepreneurs that made America great."

Root believes that the key to getting the economy back on track is lower taxes on income and capital gains. In fact, he would go one step further.

"I think we could have stimulated the economy without government getting involved at all," he said. "We should have just suspended the income tax for a year. That would have saved taxpayers $1 trillion, the cost of the stimulus. Then I'd phase in a flat tax."

Root also believes that cutting down on spending -- including defense -- would be a must in his administration.

"Wars bankrupt this country," he said. "Afghanistan could not have been avoided, but Iraq could have been avoided. On top of that, we need to cut down on foreign aid. Rather than the government sending money to Haiti, we should ask our citizens to donate privately.

"Also, the money we sent in foreign aid to Japan, South Korea and Germany allowed them to prop up their economy while we paid to defend them."

Under a Root administration, American soldiers stationed in those countries would be recalled and asked to guard the U.S. border. In addition, he would take steps to promote legal immigration.
"I don't believe in open borders, but much of our success is due to legal immigration," he said. "Although we should change the Constitution to disallow birthright citizenship, I would like to raise the quotas for immigrants to come to this country for school and let them work here after graduation.

"We should also offer instant citizenship to anyone who invests at least $250 grand in a home or a business."

As a true Libertarian, Root also wants to legalize marijuana and, to a certain extent, gay marriage and prostitution.

"I've never smoked or drank, but I have plenty of friends who have," he said. "You can't prohibit people from doing what they want. As for gay marriage, I am not bothered by it, but I fall on the side of states' rights. Same with prostitution."

If Root is elected, it would obviously mean big changes in how the government is run, and also in the makeup of the Cabinet.

"Look, Obama's election was a great achievement, but he has bad instincts on everything he's done as president," Root said. "He believes in the power of the elites. I went to an Ivy League school myself, but I believe the average small businessman knows more and has more smarts than anyone in his Cabinet and, if elected, my Cabinet will reflect that."

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