If he wins, he plans to use his position to seek more high-tech visas so that the United States "can suck the brains out of all the other countries of the earth."

"The whole earth would be better off," he said. "If I lose, there will be no advocate for those visas at the table."

A pivotal primary

Cannon has lost weight recently but not because of an emotional toll. Instead, he wears a pedometer to make sure he takes 10,000 steps a day. He also takes a lot of nutritional supplements, more than a dozen a day.

Cannon can appear intellectually hyperactive at times, which doesn't always serve him well in debates or other public settings. He can lapse into a sort of congressional shorthand that might be fine in conversations on Capitol Hill but which voters can't follow as readily.

Interestingly, he is at his most personable on the radio, talking to KSL's Doug Wright or KFMF's Tom Barberi. A couple of weeks ago, his chair collapsed during a commercial break when Cannon was on Barberi's show. Barberi, once he learned Cannon was OK, teased him about being bucked off the chair.

"But you've got reflexes like a cat," Barberi added.

"And on the issues, too," Cannon gleefully shot back.

Campaign handlers would like Cannon to relax like that during debates. Jacob has seized upon Cannon's excitability, sometimes trying to goad Cannon in hopes the incumbent will appear flustered as he cranks into overdrive to defend himself or explain an issue with too much complexity.

Like trying to expound on the need for tighter laws so illegal immigrants can't use American emergency rooms as primary-care physicians or creating a law that would require anyone here on a temporary visa to have health insurance or a health-savings account.

Or how important it is to keep the Internet free of taxation. He is proud that he helped keep the federal government from regulating Internet phone service, which few knew about at the time but which is quickly becoming ubiquitous.

"I play a huge role in the future of America and the future of mankind. If we do things right with the Internet, the lives of people in America and around the world will be significantly improved."

Cannon has said that while polls show him ahead, they also indicate a low turnout on June 27 could lead to a Jacob win. If he loses, the millionaire who built his wealth as a venture capitalist is ready to pursue the same issues and policies through business.

But he doesn't want to go just yet.

"As long as my influence is increasing, I feel I have a moral responsibility to continue," he said. "My influence is increasing, significantly. I'm only the fifth or sixth Utahn to chair a (committee or sub-committee), and I've been able to use it to beat up on New England lefties.

"The question is, are people going to be reasonable about this or decide I'm an ogre or a traitor and eject me from Congress?"

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E-mail: twalch@desnews.com