St. Louis, MO -- (ReleaseWire) -- 12/04/2007 -- Independent U.S. Presidential Candidate Blake Ashby released a video of his speech from the Ashby 2008 campaign kickoff. (www.ashby2008.com).

“The speech is long and tedious, but the issues are important for our country,” said Ashby. “To my mind, the purpose of the U.S. Government is to extend equality of opportunity to all Americans. I know that we have opportunity now, but I am concerned that it is slipping away from us. Will our children and grandchildren have the same opportunities? Is individual freedom and self-determination slipping away from us?”

“This isn’t just a philosophic question,” noted Ashby. “It defines what the future of the United States will look like. An active government aggressively promoting equality of opportunity is our best chance to maintain the dynamism of our society. Potential does not respect economic or ethnic boundaries – it is distributed throughout our society. We as a country must continue to tap into the potential of all Americans. This is our country’s best chance to cheat history, to avoid the decline that has brought down great nations throughout history.”

About Ashby 2008
Blake Ashby is a life-long Republican who is running as a cranky Independent Presidential Candidate because he has become frustrated with the fiscal irresponsibility and misplaced social conservatism of the party. He believes, as so many Americans do, that the strength of our nation's government has been weakened by political hypocrisy on the parts of both major parties, and their neglect of the critical issues that affect America most is making our nation vulnerable. Ashby’s goal is to stimulate debate on the hard issues facing our country, and hopefully to help force the Republican Party to return to its roots.

For more information: http://www.ashby2008.com