With the 2008 presidential primaries well over a year away, the virtually unknown John Cox of Illinois is quietly moving through the political circles of New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina in an effort to generate possible support in his long shot campaign for the White House. Accompanying his efforts is his book, Politic$, Inc.: Principle, Not Profit: Why We Need Statesmen, Not Career Politicians, while also laying out his personal philosophy of conservatism.

John Cox is a 50-year old Chicagoland businessman, tax attorney, accountant, school board president, and ex-Democrat who believes that the time is right for a true political “outsider” to take control of the Executive branch, two decades after his much-admired President Reagan bid Washington farewell. Mr. Cox, unsuccessful in his attempts for office in Congress in 2000 and the Senate in 2002, believes that his moment has finally arrived.

In Politic$, Inc., Cox argues that the current political model is broken, due to professional politicians who are more concerned with personal advancement and financial gain than the national interests. Throughout the book, the Chicago businessman draws on his experience in having dealt daily with the burdensome tax code, bureaucrats who forget whom they work for, and legislators who have turned their office into personal fiefdoms.

His 224-page paperback book offers his solutions in a straightforward style that will strike a chord with conservatives frustrated by the runaway spending of a Republican-held Congress and White House. His message should also grip those readers who have been equally appalled at the reflexive stance that Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert recently took in defense of Democrat Rep. William Jefferson of Louisiana, and the political hypocrisy of people like Republican Senators Arlen Specter and John McCain.

Author Cox asserts in Politic$, Inc. that free-market principles -- not reliance on government -- should be used to combat the looming problems of Social Security, health care and the deteriorating American educational system. Government, Cox continues, is a hindrance to progress, made all the more so by professional politicians who choose to ignore difficult and sometimes distasteful solutions in lieu of political compromise, thus wasting the opportunity to resolve our country’s most important issues.

Politic$, Inc. will have appeal for an electorate starving for true conservative leadership. Cox concludes in his missive that term limits are necessary because legislators have repeatedly shown themselves incapable of political restraint. The advantages of incumbency are strengthened by the compromising examples of those already in office. He points to senatorial examples such John McCain and Alan Specter.

John Cox, whose father abandoned his infant son and mother, is unconditionally opposed to abortion on demand and against amnesty for illegal aliens. The author advocates a missile defense system to stay steps ahead of rogue nations who might pursue nuclear weapons. He is also committed to implementing a free-market blueprint for health care costs, education, and the environment, that is fair and responsible -- meaning minimal government interference.

Politic$, Inc. is not a flawless recitation of solutions to the nation’s ills. Much of Mr. Cox’s proposals and solutions depend not only on a more responsible type of public servant, but also on a more responsible electorate. Throwing out career politicians such as Senator Specter, for instance, would require political courage -- courage to back true conservatives, at the risk, he maintains, of temporarily putting Democrats in office. (Ironically, it can be argued that Specter’s reelection did put a Democrat in office).


Though lacking real political exposure, Cox does have the advantage of having spent his entire professional life in business, wrestling with government regulations and the rules and the red tape of bureaucrats. Not holding office, he is also beholden to no group. He has earned his fortune on his own, a self-made man. If his book resonates with readers as brightly as his ambition, Politic$, Inc.: Principle, Not Profit: Why We Need Statesmen, Not Career Politicians, might be his ticket to political office.

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