IS THERE ANYONE YOU ADMIRE IN AMERICAN PUBLIC LIFE, IN TERMS OF LEADERSHIP?
Do you mean traditional politicians?
INCLUDING POLITICIANS, BUT NOT JUST LIMITED TO THEM.
I wouldn't include anybody, including Obama, in terms of people I admire. During the election I knew a lot of people who were going to vote for him, but I told them that they were going to be disappointed.
I THINK WE'RE HEARING FROM THOSE PEOPLE NOW.
Sure enough. People in public life that I admire? There's someone who died not that long ago, Howard Zinn, who I saw vilified when he died by conservatives, as if he was some kind of communist-inspired historian. I have a great deal of respect for someone like Howard Zinn but, generally, politicians are a breed that I generally avoid.
WHAT ABOUT SOMEONE LIKE SENATOR BERNIE SANDERS?
Bernie Sanders, I know he's an independent senator from Vermont. I know he used to claim to be a socialist. I don't know if he still is or not. Honestly, I haven't followed his voting record enough to comment. I bet he's better than John McCain. But I really don't follow politicians. Even when we were doing the solitary-confinement legislation, when it's key to know some of the various state representatives, I got to know some better than I had, but it's not an area that I examine as closely as other things.
GIVEN THAT YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN AN ACTIVIST, EVEN WHEN ON PAROLE, NOW THAT YOUR PAROLE IS FINISHED, WHAT WILL BE DIFFERENT AS YOU MOVE FORWARD, IN TERMS OF YOUR ACTIVISM?
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