Presidential Candidate Rolls Through Geneva in Giant Bus Carrying a Big Wrench—And No, It's Not Sarah Palin

At 11:13 Thursday morning, John Davis was running a little late—understandably so. He'd already visited three Illinois counties that day on his campaign for the Republican nomination to the presidency, and  was his next stop.  

"This is the first time we've ever done this," said Foxfire's co-owner, Curt Bulbro. "I'd never heard of him."

Despite an article in the Kane County Chronicle announcing his arrival, the event didn't draw a big crowd, but two voters came to hear what Davis had to say.  

"I just am more curious than anything," said Mary Rakunas, a St. Charles resident who'd gotten her cardio workout in walking to the restaurant. "I was going to show up and then show out in a little while, but I don't think I'll be able to!"

Still, Davis didn't let a small audience keep him from making a huge entrance. The Grand Junction, CO, native rolled into town a half hour behind schedule in a bus tricked out with Americana—a bald eagle, the flag and the Constitution adorn its sides. It's reminiscent of media darling Sarah Palin's, with one exception: the bus also sports a larger-than-life picture of Davis wielding a red-white-and-blue wrench to fix the country's problems.

"You know, we've got big problems; we need a big wrench. Nobody ever forgets a guy with a big wrench!" Davis joked as he walked into Foxfire with the wrench resting against his shoulder.  

His campaign for the presidency marks his first foray into politics; for most of his life, he's been a self-employed home builder. "I'm not a politician. I'm a guy who rolls up my sleeves and says, 'Let's get the job done. Let's work this out,'" Davis said.  

When Davis decided to throw his hat into the ring a year and a half ago, his wife Debbie was skeptical. "I said 'Absolutely not. I can't handle one more thing on my plate,'" Debbie Davis said. 

But he told her a few weeks later he felt led by God to seek the presidency, and she reconsidered. "I said, 'Are you really serious about this?' And he said yes," Debbie said.

"I know that if I felt like God had called me to do something, I'd want him to support me."

So the Davises bought a bus, packed their suitcases and set out to visit every county in the United States. 

"It's never been done before. And I raised the bar so high, none of those guys will ever follow me. I don't even know if we're going to be able to do it. You know, it's tough to do 12 to 13 counties a day, two weeks straight." 

Davis will tell his story to anyone who'll listen. His ideals are true to his party—less government, lower taxes, a fiscally conservative approach to spending. But when voter Tom Walthour asked him for his specific plan to solve the budget crisis, Davis was hesitant to give details.  

"We're Americans. We've always been able to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and get together and say, 'Hey, we can do this.' But we need a good leader. And it's Economics 101: you take the credit cards and you cut 'em up," Davis told Walthour.

Still, Davis is confident he has the skills necessary to lead the country. "There ain't a lot of things I do know how to do, but fixing the economy, getting jobs to come back and balancing that budget? I absolutely do know how to do it, and I've got the backbone and the heart to do it."

With that, Davis and his wife left to continue their eight-counties-in-eight-hours tour, but Walthour stayed behind to get reactions from Rakunas and Bulbro.

"(Listening to him) wakes you up," said Bulbro.

"Yeah," said Rakunas, laughing. "But.  But, but, but, but—"

"It's not realistic," Bulbro finished, and the three agreed, though they admired Davis' courage.  

"This man does something that most of us would never even dream of doing," Rakunas said. "He's willing to act on what his convictions are. We need more people like that." 

As for Davis, he's heard the objections before, and they won't slow him down. Kane County was his 836th campaign stop, and he's got plans to make 2,307 more before next November.