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Presidential Election Day around the eWorld is Monday, October 5th (Day 685). Before we press the "Vote" button, we should know a little bit about our candidates.

First, we must understand exactly what it means to be President... In eRepublik, our president does not have absolute power to enact all of the promises that are made on the campaign trail. Most of the power in our eCountries comes from Congress - which is made up of different political parties and ideologies. Although they are less visible than the president, the congressmen and women we vote for collectively have more power than the president. The president cannot change tax laws (or even prevent the laws the congress decides to pass).

So what CAN the president do then? The president can:
1. Propose MPPs/alliances/treaties with other countries.
2. Propose changes to the new citizen message.
3. Propose the purchase of hospitals/defense systems.
4. Propose trading embargoes.
5. Propose war and peace.
6. Provide leadership and influence to help his/her proposals, which must be voted on and agreed by congress in order to pass.

The president also will represent your country to the rest of the world, both in image and through diplomacy, as your president is the most visible member of your country.

The Vice President (if one is selected) does not ascend to the presidency if the President cannot perform and does not have direct legislative powers, but can act as a liason between the president and congress/the military/the public/other eCountries in order to help the President accomplish his/her goals. While the Vice President may not have direct power, the Vice President is most valuable to the President because of his/her INFLUENCE.

As I did last month, I've again asked the presidential candidates to respond to my questions. This month, I've chosen 3 questions and, for the first time, I’ve interviewed both candidates Gaius Julius and Woxan in real time using IRC. These are the questions I asked them:

”1) While the President does not have to answer to congress in the decisions that are made and the President always makes the final decision, what will you do to make sure congress is included in the process of executive decisions?

2) If you are elected as President, where will your domestic policy be focused during the next term?

3) What makes you the best candidate for POTUS?”

You can see the complete interview with Gaius Julius and interview with Woxan conducted on IRC or the combined excerpts of the interviews of how each of our candidates whose responses are found below:

Woxan has served several terms in congress and has also been a member of the Presidential Cabinet. His running mate is Cerb, a well-respected multi-term senator in eUSA and long-time public servant. Woxan’s platform is here. This is how he responded to my questions:

”1. have a liason to Congress to inform Congress of matters in the Executive branch. Congress is not completely safe from leaks to PEACE, but I'd like to keep Congress informed. We have some great citizens serving in there, like Tiacha and Killing Time, and it'd be a crime to leave some of our best out of the decision process.

2. It will be focused on education and citizen retention. We have many people who are willing to help newbs who enter the game and every single one we retain is a fighter against PEACE and a source of new ideas for the nation.

3. Knowing my strengths and limitations, I intend to surround myself with the best and brightest to create a well balanced Cabinet and work with other government programs like education and get it up and running. We have seen little progress in the realm of education and I believe we should put our resources behind it, which has not happened recently.”

Our incumbent president, Gaius Julius (Fed) had served in Emerick’s administration and took office after Emerick stepped down last term. Gaius’ running mate is the well-known and respected economics author and presidential advisor, Jewitt who will try for a second term as Vice President. Gaius’ platform is here. These are the excepts from the IRC interview with President Gaius Julius:

”1. First off, during Emerick’s first term I was his point man in relations with Congress. As his [Chief of Staff], I helped to manage the relation between Executive and Legislative…furthermore I was speaker for about a term, so I understand how congress feels. I want to try to set up a better system for communicating with Congress in real time because I feel as though that is the biggest problem…the executive branch and the allies are always on IRC and we have to make off the cuff decisions and sometimes that process gets bogged down in debate. I think Congress needs a say and if we could get them up to our speed much quicker it will help. Also I plan to work closely with the whip, to help me get info out through forum and in game pms”.

2. …My domestic policy as stated in the article will not be focused on the old concept of throwing programs and names at an issue…it doesn’t work long term. Saying you support a program doesn’t mean it will thrive. So essentially we need a streamlined approach to new player and domestic affairs, not [an] over-yielding [bureaucracy] that can’t move and shift, just programs that coordinate. I plan to have SirEkim work very closely with the heads of a lot of these programs to make sure [they] work together. After a new player [gets] food they need to be passed onto the mentors; after the mentors they need to know about the North American University (NAU) and Training Division (TD) as those are what make new citizens into players of the game…Working with each program my [Secretary of the Interior], SirEkim, will help to make sure each group communicates. He won’t tell them what to do, as many of them do a good job, just to make sure we don’t lose players in between steps, as that is our biggest problem; people need a connection from day one…We need to present these programs and give players choices. Also, I plan to keep up my high rate of articles as another tool [for education].”

3. I think I am the best Candidate because of three factors:
a) I have already been tested with crisis issues. I had to take over after Emerick was MIA for a period of time. I had to work with a military that probably saw me as another politico trying to steer the ship and I had allies who have gotten tired of bringing up a new eUS president up to speed every month. It was a lot at first and I put in literally 18 hours a day (minus class time) into getting the job done…I showed leadership in military matters, I kept citizens in the loop and I listened to our allies and offered my own opinions. I think I managed that part of my presidency well;
b) the second reason is relationships. I have developed a lot of international ties and contacts in the past month. This is especially true with allied and neutral countries. Many of these contacts have resulted in positive occurrences, such as neutral countries sending us troops to help us, Canada and us working on a diamond trade deal and me representing the “Brolliance” in reparation talks;
c) the third reason is I am not a one-trick pony. A lot of people say "ok Gaius finished the war now lets get someone who can move us forward, as Gaius lacks vision and understanding of domestic affairs" and I feel like that is just not true…I have talked a lot with people such as SirEkim [and] Tiacha about what to do…It is a commonly misconceived point. I originally ran as a domestic affairs guy…that’s why I was originally picked by the HR administration.”

I thank each of the presidential candidates who took time out from their campaigns to write a response for F&R so that it can be seen by our readers. Now that you know a little more about the candidates, the questions you must ask yourselves are:

1. Who will most effectively be able to influence congress to enact the laws I believe will be best for our eCountry (and will keep it fun!)?

2. Which candidate will be able to project to the rest of the world the image of my eCountry that I desire to be projected?

Make sure you vote on Election Day (Day 685) and, if the person you vote for doesn't get elected, remember that our presidents only have 1-month terms, so have fun and enjoy another day in eRepublik!