RURAL VALUES 'Average Joe' from Ohio campaigns for presidency

The former reporter and counselor talks about a need to simplify.
EDINBORO, Pa. (AP) -- Joe Schriner is an average man from Ohio who drives a van, works as a handyman and home schools his kids.
Oh, and he's running for president for the second time.
Schriner, 49, of Bluffton, Ohio, brought his campaign to Pennsylvania this week, parking his two early 1970s vans in Edinboro, south of Erie, unfurling his homemade sign and greeting voters as they drove across the corner of Route 99 and Route 6N.
Schriner, his wife and his three children have been traveling throughout the West and Midwest since May to promote him as "average Joe Schriner for president."
The former newspaper reporter and drug and alcohol counselor talks about a need to simplify the American lifestyle and embrace rural values.
He also worries about the kind of world that will be left for his children.
"I don't want my children growing up in a world with global warming, acid rain and ozone holes," Schriner said. "We think the way the country's going now is in the wrong direction."
Try, try again
Schriner first decided to run for the White House in April 1999. During the 2000 campaign, the family covered 20,000 miles in 19 months. In 2002, the family spent eight months traveling through Ohio's 88 counties.
This year, they expect to be on the road until mid-September.
"As we travel from place to place, we look for people who are doing things to make a difference," Schriner said. "In small-town America, you don't find as much animosity. On the streets here, people will talk to you."
Schriner's campaign has become almost like a ministry as the family accepts donations and spends many nights on the road. Instead of owning a house, the family rents a home when they're not traveling.
Schriner waved to passing motorists, sprinted through traffic to hand out fliers and yelled thanks to people who honked their horns in support.
"Vote for me, and I'll set you free," he shouted to a truck driver.
"Vote Joe. It's the way to go," yelled his wife, Liz.
Few people stop to talk, but those who do say they're impressed with his cause.
"He's got some good ideas," said Mike Nuber, an Edinboro resident. "If he wants to help the poor, then that's a good idea."