The Observation Deck

In 2003, when gas prices were hovering around $1.60 a gallon, he proposed a bill to tax the profits of big energy, contending, "Oil companies are clearly taking advantage of the American people." He's attacked the Cleveland Indians for moving their games to cable, attempted to abolish the death penalty, and most recently sought the impeachment of Dick Cheney.


In each case, his proposals went nowhere. Kucinich hadn't done the groundwork or built the allegiance to make them happen. But he did get his headlines, the kind that remind the "forgotten people" that he's still on their side.

And now he's remade himself again.

With his run for president, Kucinich is no longer catering to the blue-collar West Side, but the American left. He's no longer anti-gay, anti-abortion Cleveland Catholic, but a pro-choice, anti-war vegan bent on being the most liberal of the Democratic field. Ask supporters for his greatest accomplishments, and they'll inevitably raise the myth of Muny Light. But Kucinich carefully avoids the rest of his past.