Members of the media refer to him as a "stunt candidate." He didn't appear on stage in South Carolina last week for the Republican presidential debate because he failed to hit the required support threshold-- 1 percent in five national polls. He won't pull down financial backing from the conservative oil billionaire Koch brothers, nor win over the far-right readers at the RedState blog. Yet, set against the uninspiring candidacies likely to be waged by the men so far lined up to challenge Barack Obama for the White House, Fred Karger's candidacy could be the most influential, if he stays with it. A moderate conservative former Reagan aide, longtime political consultant and civil rights activist, he is also unabashedly gay-- the first ever openly gay GOP candidate for president.