One thing we can all surely agree upon is this year’s election will define America for the foreseeable future. I can honestly say that in my lifetime, I have never seen our nation this divided. Why is it, then, in the past few elections we have had two candidates that no one truly feels passionate about?
In the 2000 Republican primary, moderate John McCain seemed to have everything going for him. McCain’s “Straight Talk Express” campaign bus and his announcement that he wouldn’t take soft-money contributions (which are essentially unlimited amounts of corporate money), made many believers in his cause. Why didn’t he win his party’s nomination, you’re wondering?
Conservative George W. Bush, happily taking all the unwanted corporate contributions, eventually pulled ahead of McCain in the primaries. It wasn’t a clean win, however. Team Bush suggested that McCain (a POW who spent five years in a Vietnamese prison) ignored veterans, and groups calling on Bush’s behalf during the South Carolina primary even referred to McCain as the “fag candidate.”
Fast forward to 2003, when Howard Dean questioned the merits of leading a unilateral Iraq War (one of the first Democrats to do so) and was effectively labeled a “liberal” as a result. Many college students went nuts for him, and apparently (since online fundraising records were broken) so were many other people, too. Although he led national polls before the democratic primaries began, he lost the Iowa caucus in an upset.
What’s my point, you’re asking? I believe this year we are, again, without two candidates anyone really cares about in an election that everyone should care about. The Republicans didn’t nominate John McCain in 2000 because they felt he was too moderate for the party and agreed with many Democratic platforms. And the Democrats didn’t nominate Howard Dean because he was perceived as liberal (even though he, unlike our current president, is a fiscal conservative). God forbid the Democratic candidate is labeled liberal! As if that’s not enough, Democrats always seem to worry that they’ll be painted as weak on defense (even though Bush’s military service record is nothing less than abysmal). So, of course, the Democratic Party chose to move back to the middle, while also picking a career politician.
Speaking of political ideologies, why have both parties shifted to the right? Certainly the Christian Coalition seems to be the backbone of the Republican Party, but why do the Democrats simply offer a less conservative candidate? Do people really think that the NRA members and those with deeply conservative religious views will vote democrat? That’s like assuming those who support gay rights and a woman’s right to choose will vote republican!
We, as Americans, are viewed throughout the world based upon the actions of our president. Lately that has meant America is not as respected internationally as it once was. If we still wish to be the world’s only superpower, we need to accept the responsibilities that come with the title. President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address asked Americans to think “not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” More than 40 years later, that still rings true. We need to fight terrorism abroad to protect Americans at home. We need to start investing the same amount of resources into our schools as we do our military. We need to stop the outsourcing of American jobs so we can maintain the quality of life we’ve come to expect for all Americans. We just need to believe – again – that our country is up to the challenge.
– Sean Riley is a senior business major.
