By Peter Shanley
In less than two months voters will return to the polls and choose which path they want to take for the next four years.
President George W. Bush and Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry have demonstrated differing views on where to lead the country while on the campaign trail. The democratic and republican platforms on which they are running point in opposite directions regarding issues varying from abortion to foreign policy. On Nov. 2 voters will decide which way to go as they pick the man who will be the next president of the United States.
“President Bush, above all, has shown compassion through issues like human rights, education, children and even the war in Iraq, and that will resonate with voters,” said senior Annabelle Guerra, the president of Northeastern’s College Republicans.
Though Guerra said she believes her preferred candidate is doing well with the issues and campaigning, she still said she feels the race will be tight.
“I have a feeling it will be close,” Guerra said. “I’m a realist.”
As soon as Kerry was deadlocked to win the democratic nomination, the Bush camp began painting him as a liberal senator from Massachusetts with a 20-year voting record to prove it.
After damaging advertisements by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth aimed to discredit his military record, Kerry fought back following a telephone conversation with former President Bill Clinton, who spoke at length about having an effective strategy to win.
The Kerry campaign also enlisted the help of former Clinton aides, including James Carville, Paul Begala, Stanley Greenberg and Joe Lockhart. The decision to retaliate pleased most Democrats, who have been quietly criticizing Kerry for responding slowly to attacks on his military service.
“I think it is great,” said junior Heidi Buchanan, the president of Northeastern Univer-sity’s College Democrats. “James Carville was the mastermind behind the Clinton campaigns and he is going to be great for the Kerry campaign.”
A “new” Kerry emerged from the buildup with an offensive game plan being implemented. Throughout last week, Kerry repeatedly assailed the president in speeches across the country for squandering $200 billion in Iraq and stating that the “W” in George W. Bush stands for wrong: “the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Vice President Dick Cheney made his own headlines last week on Tuesday at a campaign stop in Des Moines, Iowa.
“It’s absolutely essential that eight weeks from today on Nov. 2 we’ve made the right choice,” said Cheney, “because if we’ve made the wrong choice the danger is we’ll get hit again.”
Kerry’s running mate, North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, deemed the comments to be “un-American” and Demo-crats from across the political spectrum claimed the Bush campaign was using “scare tactics” to intimidate voters. Cheney clarified his remarks two days later by saying President Bush would be more effective at pursuing terrorists than Kerry.
“My initial reaction was that it was a pretty strong statement whether I agree with it or not,” Guerra said. “Cheney is free to say whatever he wants but it was probably written by a speechwriter.”
However, Buchanan said she believes Cheney’s remarks were out of line.
“I don’t think he has any right to say that,” Buchanan said. “It is just dirty politics.”
The Bush campaign has had to deal with news reports critical of President Bush’s service in the Texas National Guard but is still enjoying a lead over Kerry, 49-43, in the latest Newsweek poll.
