Armed with only a colonial wig, a semi-reliable cell phone and a truck affectionately referred to as “Air Ford One”, Daniel R. Vovak has been crisscrossing Iowa with a simple message.

“Hi, I’m running for president.”

Responses varied from confused laughter to “President of what?”

However, the laughter subsides when listeners realize underneath the Revolution-era wig is a man completely devoted to winning the White House.

Vovak, who wears the wig so voters will remember him, spoke to ISU students Wednesday. He opted to talk to students individually in front of the University Drive Association Dining Center and Memorial Union food court, purposely avoiding speaking before an audience in the Memorial Union — the traditional approach for a presidential candidate.

Vovak spent his time in small settings because he touts a platform called “Small Ideas for America.”

Vovak’s three main platform ideas are: tightening America’s borders, controlling judges and lawsuits because they’re “out of control,” and canceling the White House copy of The New York Times because the president “should be reading about small- town America from small newspapers.”

Vovak said he isn’t concerned about the larger issues, and doesn’t know the difference between Medicare and Medicaid.

“They both sound the same so I can’t see why the government doesn’t lump those two programs together,” he said.

At 31, Vovak is four years younger than the required constitutional age of 35 to be eligible for presidency.

But the candidate, who won’t declare whether he’s a Democrat or Republican until a few days before the Iowa Caucuses, claims the rule discriminates against younger Americans and cites examples of other politicians who have bent the rules.

For example, Sen. Joe Biden, D-Delaware was elected to the U.S. Senate at age 29, although the Constitution indicates senators must be 30, Vovak said.

Vovak’s enthusiasm was met with mixed reactions from students.

“At first I didn’t believe he was running for president,” said Jennie Erwin, junior in computer engineering. “But it would be great to get somebody young elected. But the wig isn’t helping him out.”

However, Vovak believes the wig is the key to giving him recognition as a candidate.

“When I first arrived in Iowa in July on a Greyhound bus, they accidentally lost my luggage, which included my wig,” he said. “When I lost my wig, I lost my candidacy.”

He has run his campaign on a shoestring budget. Vovak sleeps in the back of his truck whenever he can’t find someone willing to put him up for a few days. He didn’t know where he would sleep Wednesday night.

“A few months ago I met with Gov. Vilsack and six hours later I was sleeping in the back of my truck,” Vovak said. “I’m showing people the humility of my campaign and that it’s grassroots of the truest form.

“All of the other candidates with their millions of dollars have disqualified themselves from being grassroots.”

A former editor of newspapers in Ohio and Connecticut, Vovak has most recently been spending his time as a ghost writer on a variety of novels. But a book published under his own name initially opened the door for his presidential candidacy.

The book, loosely based on Vovak’s life, is about a young ideologue named “Luke Vovak” who is prompted to run for president. At the end of the book, the reader is left guessing as to whether “Luke” will run.

Vovak seems to have answered that question, although he still hasn’t chosen a party affiliation.

However, Squire Boone, junior in history, offered him a suggestion Wednesday: “You should definitely join the Whig Party.”