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General George Armstrong "F-Bomb" Custer is known as the "hardest working man in the Army" and has a reputation of fixing organizations. Now he has taken the unusual step of throwing his hat in the ring for Vice President of the eUSA. Yes, you heard right, VICE President. He was kind enough to take a few moments out of his numerous duties to sit down for a 2-clicker interview.

CAVEAT: As a Major General in the eUSA Army, Custer far outranks a lowly 2nd Lieutenant like me. He is also my former Commanding Officer in the 25th Tropic Lightning Division. Nevertheless, I insisted that this interview be carried out in my civilian role as an editorial advocate for 2-clickers. After dropping a couple of F-bombs, MG Custer agreed not to take offense (or toss me in the brig) for asking tough questions.



General Custer, thank you for your time, I know you have a lot on your plate and I appreciate you taking the time to talk about your candidacy for VP.

You're quite welcome, Zheng He, I always welcome the opportunity to provide clarity and transparency.

You have taken the unusual step of declaring your candidacy for the office of Vice President. Can you briefly explain why VP and not President?

I fully support PigInZen for President of our United States. He went the unusual step in his announcement article, that rather than choosing a running mate he would appoint the second-most vote-getter as his Vice President. This, he explains, would provide better representation of our citizens and their desires for our future. But looking at the other declared candidates, and the looming possibility of Zoli (a highly respected enemy propagandist) making a run for President, I determined I would be at least as good a choice for the job.

Some might wonder if this is an implicit criticism of PigInZen's decision to run without his own VP candidate and take the runner-up instead. Is that true?

No, not at all. PigInZen offers a different kind of mindset than what we're accustomed to. PigInZen offers true non-partisan representation.

If PigInZen changed his mind and explicitly asked you to be his running mate, would you accept? And is your candidacy, in fact, an implicit request to join his campaign?

Absolutely. I look forward to working at PigInZen's side as his strong right arm. If by some bizarre quirk I were elected President I would choose him as my Vice President.

That's enough of the strategy, I think, but I also have some tactical concerns. If a 2-clicker wanted PigInZen to be President and Custer to be Vice President, how would he decide whether to vote for you or him?

Just as in Congressional Elections, most citizens will vote when it's convenient, during their normal game play time frame. This amounts to the bulk of votes cast, but sometimes elections come down to the wire and there's a last minute mobilization for yet-uncast votes to make a final push for a candidate. I'll be holding my own vote to the end of the day, checking the tally so far, and if PigInZen does not have a clear lead I will be voting for him. If he's miles ahead and we can be sure he will be our next President, I'll vote for myself. I hope enough people will do this to elect PigInZen as President for sure, my own second place finish is second priority.

Are you worried about splitting the vote? That is, if enough supporters of PigInZen vote for Custer instead, then instead of him being first, the two of you wind up being 3rd and 4th?

I don't think my name recognition, military experience and political viewpoints are strong enough to strip votes away from PigInZen, but hopefully are strong enough to pull votes from the other candidates. Articles like this, and my own clarification in my Platform series of articles, should help citizens understand how the election process works.

Let me ask about your duties as VP. Your contributions to the Army are legendary and the Army has come to depend on your active involvement. Will the Army survive with Custer being in politics?

The Army has and always will endure. No one man is indispensable. My responsibilities in the Army are as few as I've ever had in my career-- now down to just Public Affairs Senior Officer and Quartermaster for Headquarters Corps, and I've got my replacements trained and ready to assume their duties should I require an extended Leave of Absence. Our General and Executive Officer have both been busy with RL issues and I have been in temporary command of Headquarters Corps, I'm very happy to report that both are returning to relieve me of duty Wednesday.

And finally, do you want to talk about any specific policies you plan as VP?

As Vice President it would be my job to support the President in enacting his policies, not setting policy myself. However, as I have always done, with or without the official rank normally associated with consulting and advising Top Brass, President PigInZen will hear my opinion and suggestions.. and if we disagree he'll hear them loud and convincingly. I've never been shy of questioning the sanity of my superior officers in private and suggesting alternative plans of action, but ultimately I am a Soldier and I follow orders. Independent as I am, I enjoy following competent leadership and am confident that President PigInZen will provide that not only for me but for our country.

Custer, thank you very much. It's always a pleasure to talk with somebody who speaks straight and clearly.

There you have it folks. Strong leadership abroad starts with Strong leadership at home.

~Zheng He
Gerk General 2-clicker