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Proving himself as accessible after his 6th Presidential win as when he was campaigning for the office for the first time, the Freeholder Press presents to you this exclusive interview with Jacobi the day after his triumph.



The Freeholder Press: We would like to open with our congratulations Mr. President on a record 6th term. It must be one of the most satisfying victories of your career considering the outcome was decided by a mere 4 votes?

Jacobi: It certainly had a level of vindication. The opposition threw everything and the kitchen sink, the largest party in Canada, over a dozen Harland endorsements in the media, vicious and false attack ads and distortions, it was an election where the deck was stacked. Winning despite that carries a lot of satisfaction in the confidence Canadians have in me.

The Freeholder Press: Politics is often about timing. You have shown yourself to be a very astute politician with at least one finger on the pulse of the Canadian electorate and the timing of your campaign articles now appear to have been perfect. Do you credit the victory to this political instinct you have?

Jacobi: I credit the victory to the team I have. Ultimately there's only so much a single person can do to run the government, it requires a lot of trust and effort on the parts of many people. The thing that I've been blessed with is that I've got a team that is full of self motivated people, who can deliver results. Without this, I wouldn't have been comfortable asking for another term. I could talk about the skills in campaigning I bring to the table, but they wouldn't get me all the way.

The Freeholder Press: Derek Harland was a very good candidate, well respected by all segments of the population and backed by an election machine with an impressive pedigree. One question many citizens are probably asking themselves today is who is the Jacobi election team? Mr. Harland had the likes of Scorpius and Citizen B pushing the agenda and getting the vote out, who were the key players in your winning bid?

Jacobi: In terms of the same context I don't really have an election team. The core of the campaign, ads, strategy, speeches are something that I decide with the help of Nosyt (the Vice President), Caesar00 (CPP leader) and a couple others who I use as sounding boards like Saltydog and Greg McNeish. The part of the campaign that's grassroots would be the mailings we send out on election eve/election day. In large part I have Etemenanki to thank for his enormous contributions, Moffington, and Nosyt. Most of this is done over msn....we don't have a war room, per se.

The Freeholder Press: One of the by-lines that emerged during Election Day was a seeming feud between Scorpius and Rylde of the Crimson Canucks. Rylde made a very bold and public statement in support of your campaign and followed that up with votes in the dying minutes. We would like you to address this situation and would like to know how you respond to the accusation that CC's $750/week funding was in a way buying votes for just such an election.

Jacobi: I think you could swing that in a whole bunch of ways, but at the end of the day the exact funding level is a baseline determined by the government and then exact funding by the CAF. I also think that in context, a lot of people don't recognize or realize the contribution that the Canucks bring during pivotal battles. There is value but I think some of my opponents supporters ignore that if its convenient.

For an historical look though, we did fund the Canucks in September and when I was informed that under the previous administration funding was sporadic at best, we established a weekly donative to subsidize weapons purchases and the like. There was at no time an expectation on my part that they would vote for me as indeed the majority did not. The controversy here is that the minority of Canucks voted at the very end but let me pose this question to your readers. There was a difference of 4 votes and the election was close all throughout the day. It is not my fault that the opposition did not maximize their voting, if they had an extra 5 votes why didn't they use them? I certainly didn't have any in my back pocket.

The Freeholder Press: Is CC's funding in jeopardy? And are we seeing the potential emergence of special interests taking a hand in politics?

Jacobi: Their funding is not in jeopardy, people are allowed to express their opinions. I shouldn't and cannot punish them for not voting for me, the same as I wouldn't punish a member of the CPF army or the CAF for voting. We have a in-game unabridged right to vote. That means that if your party decides to back another candidate in a quid pro quo, or if you promise certain language rights to a smaller party in exchange for support, that is perfectly legal. In the end its a secret ballot -- no one controls your vote but you.

The Freeholder Press: Do each successive term in office become more or less difficult?

Jacobi: It is all situational, but I do think that the more you spend in the Presidency, the harder it gets. My social life is made easier because I force all my friends to play, but even if I'm entertaining, I have to spend time checking my computer...if I'm out I bring my phone with me so I can keep up to date in case events happen. You can only do that for a certain amount of time before your friends think you're a jerk 😛

The job itself isn't the hard part, the hard part is managing the stress.

The Freeholder Press: You have let slip in past articles that a successful 6th term would be your last. You have made similar statements in the past but always left the door open an inch. In light of the opposition you were facing, a popular opposing ticket and support from the two parties with the track record for most impressive grassroots election success, some may be tempted to grant you the keys to the nation. Voter fatigue was clearly not the deciding factor it could have been, in fact your popularity appears to have increased. Will Canada see a 7th and consecutive runs for Jacobi as head of state?

Jacobi: I will not be running in February, March, April or May due to various personal and social obligations. Voter fatigue certainly is becoming a factor for non-two clickers and an extended break will allow that to decline. I reserve the right to run in June or beyond if it makes sense to do so.



The Freeholder Press: Thank you for your dedication to Canada and thank you for taking the time to answer these few questions for our readers. The Freeholder Press grants you the floor to make the closing statements of this article. Good luck Mr. President and congratulations one more time.

Jacobi: I think that this election showed something fairly significant in terms of how Canadians approach Presidential elections. Unfortunately, it is no longer becoming a contest of ideas or values or philosophies but rather a chess match of placing people, ads, articles and messages in the right place at the right time to grab endorsements and then to win the vote. This is was not a very difficult election to contest in terms of the fundamentals and I think that's why the opposition lost. There was a lot of talk about how we needed a national vision, newer ideas, fresh perspectives and all that, but when it came time for the opposition to lay out that vision it turned out to be "Let someone else be in charge." I don't think you can win an election when your reason to be elected is "I'm not the other guy," unless you're running against George Bush or someone of that level of incompetence. The opposition had a chance to lay out comprehensive proposals, to put forth a vision, and to accentuate the differences between myself and them. There are people out there, and I think enough of them, who would have voted for someone new if they offered something new. I won because their idea of change ultimately boiled down to a change of a nameplate.