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NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) - Troy Small has been
stumping three years for the U.S. presidency, and it looks like he's got
what it takes. He has the power suit, flag-bearing business cards, a
campaign Web site, an attractive, supportive family and a solid idea of what
he would accomplish in the White House. "I'll fight Saddam ... and Osama. I
think I'll find them, too, and say, 'Who wants a piece of cake?"' said Troy.
He is, after all, 6 years old and seemed to be referring to a piece of pie
in the face rather than serving up a friendly two-tiered confection. The
pint-sized politician has been on the campaign trail since the tender age of
3, when his father, John Small, was reading a presidential trivia book. "He
was asking what I was reading, so I started telling him about it, and he
just kind of got fascinated. He thought that was pretty cool," the elder
Small aid. What followed were a series of presidential requests from the
tyke: a trip to the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library in Iowa on Hoover's
birthday; a visit to the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace in California
instead of Disneyland; and a bed in the shape of Mount Rushmore. The last
one never happened. Instead, Troy got a replica of Abraham Lincoln's box at
Ford's Theatre - a bunk bed draped with scalloped American flags and covered
in patriotic pillows. Also around his room are more flags, books on the
presidents, a clock and poster decorated with presidential faces and two
dolls of his favorite commander in chief, George W. Bush. Troy got within
inches of Bush during the president's visit to Omaha in May, but didn't get
the opportunity to press the flesh. If they did meet, Troy said he knows
what he'd do. "I'd give him one of my business cards and get him a free
sticker," he said. Troy has taken the stage before. His dresser top is
nearly covered with awards from his days as a baby pageant contestant.
"Those two were from the last baby pageants ever," said Troy, musing about
the good ol' days. "That was the saddest day of my life." But like any good
candidate, it's onward and upward. The political hopeful takes pride in his
catalogue of presidential knowledge. Queries from his father and mother,
Heidi, illicit answers to questions like: Which presidents died on the same
day? Who was the heaviest president? And who is on various large currencies
like the $1,000 bill? Troy's stumping has not gone unnoticed. He appeared on
CNN last week, and this week is scheduled to appear on CBS's morning show
and fly to New York for another talk show appearance - a trip Troy called
his "life's dream." "It's just starting to snowball, which is great for
Troy, because he's loving it," said the boy's mother, who calls the exposure
a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. However, she worries the blur of
engagements will take a toll on his school work. She recently had him
transferred to the local Montessori school, noting he had become frustrated
at public school and needs to work at his own pace. Meanwhile, he's
developing new interests - like the solar system, the human body and
paleontology. He's also got a classmate who's volunteered to be his first
lady and a 2-year-old sister, Taylor, who could fit as his running mate.
He's looking forward to his presidential prerogatives after a big win in
2032. "I get to look at the $1,000 bill. I get to make the butler do all my
work," Troy explained. "And I can eat my dessert first." |
