Libertarian Gary Johnson once climbed Everest, but that might be only second-highest hurdle
MOBILE, Alabama At 61, Gary Johnson is a competitive skier, has climbed Mount Everest and wants to climb the highest peak on all seven continents.
His climbed Everest the tallest mountain in the world on a broken leg in 2003. But another goal might prove to be an even higher hurdle: Getting elected president of the United States as a Libertarian.
The former two-term governor of New Mexico who ran as a Libertarian in 2012 is not a candidate in 2016 yet. But he sounded like one as he worked the room at The Bull restaurant in downtown Mobile on Monday while soliciting donations for his organization, Our America Initiative.
I was born with an overdose of common sense, he told a crowd of about 20 as he shared his views on the economy, health care, foreign policy and social issues.
Johnson apparently also was born with a healthy dose of self-confidence. He predicted he would be a wildly successful president.
Johnson will attend a fundraiser in Montgomery Tuesday afternoon before participating in a forum on environmental policy at the University of Alabama at Birminghams Blazer Hall at 6 p.m. He will close out his Alabama trip at a fundraiser at Riverchase Country Club in Birmingham.
Diehard supporters would like to see Johnson give the presidency another shot. A Change.org petition to draft him has garnered 1,170 signatures.
Dennis Knizley, a Mobile lawyer who serves on the Alabama Libertarian Party Executive Committee, noted that Johnsons experience in high office sets him apart from many other of the partys candidates.
To the Libertarians, hes a godsend, he said.
Libertarians remain longshots
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Libertarian Gary Johnson once climbed Everest, but that might be only second-highest hurdle