4A the university daily kansan
opinion
wednesday, december 3, 2003
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This is to the guy that broke into my apartment and stole all of my change: Thanks for leaving the really cool beer mug.
when I talk with my friends at the University of Kansas, most of them ask who is winning the race. But that is the wrong question to ask. The right question is: "Which candidate is best for the Democratic Party?"
So I am thinking about bringing the side
pony tail back. Who's with me? Anyb
body? Anybody? Anybody? No? OK.
when I talk with my friends at the University of Kansas, most of them ask who is winning the race. But that is the wrong question to ask. The right question is: "Which candidate is best for the Democratic Party?"
Pop Rocks and beer. That would be really sweet.
It is Monday night and I am drinking at 9 o'clock. I love college.
Is it a bad thing that when I come back from break that my dorm room smells really, really bad? Just a thought.
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What is that movie with the mannequin? Oh yeah, it was Mannequin.
The Free For All sucks and the Kansan sucks.
Hey, I am from Kansas and just because we don't get drunk on the farm and go two-stepping doesn't mean that we don't know how to party.
My friend cut the tip of my cat's tail off.
Should I call a K-State vet student and see if something is going to happen?
This is to the guy publicly urinating outside of Budig around 8 o'clock; So sorry to interrupt.
If I knew a man that took the male birth control that would be really hot.
To the people from Texas who say that people from Kansas don't know how to party; I don't know if anyone has ever been to Dallas but it sucks.
stayskal's view
perspective
Wayne Stayskal for Knight Ridder
In a crowded race where talk is cheap, Kerry best candidate for Democratic party
The field for the Democratic Presidential nominee seems to lack clarity as each candidate continually struggles to establish a strong sense of identity.
GUEST COMMENTARY
Kit Brauer
opinion@hansan.com
A couple of weeks ago, James Carville said he would rather have a nominee whom he agreed with 75 percent of the time get 51 percent of the general election vote than a guy whom he agreed with 100 percent get 49 percent.
As Democrats, we need to stay focused. We need to stay focused on advancing the policy that we espouse. We need to stay focused on nominating a candidate who will appeal to the evergrowing Independents in America. We need a candidate for America. Even though that sounds like the "Dean for America" slogan, he couldn't be further from the ground on which we need to stand.
The Democrats are not going to win this election by following the Democratic Leadership Council to the right. We are going to win this election by being
After each party's base is mobilized, this election will be fought among Independents. Independents will decide this election. Democrats need to stay focused on nominating a candidate who can capture these voters. This is the only way that we can advance the Democratic Party. Dem-
occrats need to nominate the best person they have for the dangerous environment that we live in.
right, and by being strong. The Brookings Institute and The Pew Research Center, in their report on the 2004 political landscape, emphatically note that the electorate is evenly divided and increasingly polarized. This means that Democrats are going to come out to vote for whichever Democrat is nominated and Republicans are going to vote for George W.Bush.
Polling firms note that foreign policy and the economy will be major issues in 2004. Additionally, polling shows that experience in the military and foreign policy are important to Independents. Among independent voters, the Democratic Party is trusted more on the economy while the Republican Party is trusted more on national security and foreign policy. Among the potential nominees, no one stands out on the issue of the economy, and every Democrat holds equal strength among Independent voters. The way to create an advantage for the Democratic Party is to be strong on national security and foreign policy.
Military experience is not a pre-requisite for the presidency, but in the post-Sept. 11 world, a firsthand perspective can't be learned in the White House situation room. George W. Bush is a great example of what happens when a man with no foreign policy experience enters the White House.
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean has no foreign policy experience. Dean
failed his military physical because of a medical condition with his back and didn't have to serve in Vietnam. Just a short time later, he spent his winter sking the slopes of Aspen.
Sen. John Kerry served two tours in Vietnam and was awarded three purple hearts, a Bronze Star and Silver Star. He came back to America to fight against the war, leading the group Vietnam Veterans Against the War. Sen. Kerry served 19 years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and has a distinguished record in national security.
Though this race may be crowded, there is a clear choice when we talk about advancing Democratic policy. There is a clear choice when we talk about electability.
Supporting Kerry is the Democratic Party's best hope for advancing Democratic principles and making America safer, stronger and more secure. Find more information about Kerry's presidential campaign at www.johnkerry.com.
Brauer is a Denver senior in political science. He is interning on the John Kerry for President campaign in Washington, D.C.
perspective
No need to change status quo; Bush should stay
As college students, we are often believe in something via our emotions, without rationally or realistically thinking about that issue. Political campaign managers tend to choose "grunt workers" or "gophers" for the campaign from younger people such as us who are willing to sign up and perform hours of meaningless labor. Why? They know that some young people tend to be blindly idealistic and naïve. This idealism manifests itself every time a student aspires to something wholly unrealistic or believes - affectedly - in some odd change that he wishes performed on the status quo. Only in the most dire circumstances, however, is changing the status quo necessary and, right now, we are in no such situation.
Jonathan Sternberg opinion@kansan.com
We all tend to believe in some leadership personality, idolizing that person to a degree that, in all honesty, the person usually does not deserve. If you truly believe in what any politician tells you, then you are either deluding yourself or are more immature than you think. None of the candidates for president are wonderful, perfect people. Granted, somewhere deep down inside they probably all have America's best interests at heart and are
COMMENTARY
Honestly, then, how many people can say that President Bush has affected their lives in an overwhelmingly negative or positive way? I am no blind admirer of the President, but I am sick of hearing some students constantly whine about his positions on issues that bear absolutely no importance on their day-to-day lives. What does it matter to your health and safety if we drill for oil in some Alaskan forest? How does our treatment of criminal, murderous terrorists impact you, here in Lawrence? Does whether or not we find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq really affect your family's well-being? 93 the French government
probably decent, but they are all equally human.
These grandiose concerns that college students love to argue about bear no real concern on us. Instead, then, when evaluating for whom to vote next year, find some issues that really do affect your daily life; the nitty-gritty, rather than the ethereal, will point you in a sensible direction. To me, fiscal politics are the most important. As H&H Block explains on their Web site, the President expanded the two lower tax brackets to higher incomes and reduced percentages for the four higher brackets. Certainly, the rich have saved more in taxes, but why does that matter to you?
You, too have saved, as the President has already created a new, lower 10 percent bracket for people like us working students. That $300 or less that you paid, times several million, adds a great bulk of consumer capital to the economy, thereby helping economic growth, as current positive financial data from Washington show. According to CNN, the Gross Domestic Product is up 7.2 percent and job
These fiscal issues are far more important to your life than the fate of the spotted owl or some such nonsense. A better economy, such as we have recently seen, creates jobs and makes the ordinary citizen more comfortable. Every democratic candidate running for president is opposed to cutting still overly-burdensome taxes, a position that would negatively affect you.
losses have slowed. Obviously, the President's plan is working.
If the President had his way, we would also have no capital gains or estate taxes, thereby both bringing overseas tax-free money back to the United States and contributing a vast amount of money toward economic growth.
I ask that you think about what really affects your life, and vote accordingly. Compared to fiscal policy, nearly all else is secondary, and the President's fiscal policy helps Americans like us. With a dash of rational thought, re-electing President Bush for another four years is the only lucid choice.
has a tiff with the American government, does that make you worse-off personally? The answer to all these questions is the same: of course not
Sternberg is a Leawood senior in history.
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