Mesa State Criterion

There is less than one week before the 2008 presidential election and whether the average college student knows it or not, there are a number of different issues riding on the outcome of the Nov. 4 election.

Here at the Criterion, we feel that there are three main issues that our generation should focus on. The first is finding a new way to create energy and end our dependence on foreign oil. Equally important is the need to improve our education system at public and collegiate levels. Finally, we must find a solution to the on-going Iraq War so that we can improve future Middle East relations and make Iraq a safer and more stable country for its citizens.

Based on those issues, there is one candidate the Criterion believes is best suited and has the best overall plan to lead America in the next four years. That candidate is Republican Sen. John McCain.

On their respective energy plans, both Democrat Sen. Barack Obama and McCain have good ideas. They both realize that America can no longer afford to import oil. According to the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security up to 2003, the U.S. had given $1.16 trillion to oil producing countries over the past 30 years.  McCain mentioned in the first presidential debate that the U.S. spends $7 billion to import oil. This simply can’t continue.

While both candidates support investing in alternative energy, offshore drilling, supported heavily by McCain, is a plan that will alleviate our pain at the pump more quickly than investing in alternative energy. A 2007 report published by the U.S. Department of Energy saw the amount of crude oil in Alaska rise seven percent by the end of ‘06— adding 284 million barrels to its reserve, contributing to the 21.4 billion barrels in the country, based on a 2006 report by the Environmental Information Administration.
We know that drilling domestically is not a long term solution but in an economy where many are struggling to pay the bills, we can’t keep paying high prices at the pump and throwing money at the Middle East. Drilling domestically is a win-win for everyone, because it will provide immediate financial relief while allowing us to remain productive as possible.

One of the biggest areas in which this country is failing is education. The No Child Left Behind Act implemented by Bush has failed. We are today as we were in January 2002, when NCLB began: still not excelling in numerous areas. One could see this early on as based on stats from the National Center of Education Statistics, between 1999 and 2004 reading scores stayed the same among nine and 13-year-old boys and girls, and dropped among 17 year-olds. In 2008, things have not improved and the failures of the public education system are evident at the collegiate level. Instead of advancing towards a degree, more students are forced to spend time and money taking remedial math and English classes.

Obama’s reform plans, run the risk of failure also. While we agree that reform is needed, and applaud his focus on improving math and science, his overall plan is not thought out.

Obama’s website states that he wants better accountability “So that we are supporting schools that need improvement, rather than punishing them.” The question is how long will he wait to determine if a school is failing? Meanwhile as a school continues to fail, it eats up tax dollars and waits for improvement, its students whose parents pay the taxes fail also.  By relying mainly on reform, Obama leaves families with no “plan b” should he fail.

School vouchers, which McCain supports as his first plan to improve public education, provide families with the most flexibilty deciding how their children should be educated. By allowing families to take the money they are paying in taxes to a failing school and put it towards private education, it allows students to get a better education while forcing public schools to take accountability and improve in the future. As more parents stop supporting failing public schools,  the schools will be more motivated to provide a better education in order to earn your tax dollars.

On higher education, we like Obama for taking a stand against rising college costs. McCain feels like the status quo is OK and it simply isn’t. Unfortunately, Obama’s American Opportunity Tax Credit leaves a lot of questions unanswered that prevent us from fully supporting it. Where does the money go if someone recieves it and doesn’t finish college? Does it go back to the taxpayers or to the government and if so, it used for educational purposes?

The Iraq War is probably the touchiest subject among American’s today. We all wish it could be over tomorrow, and we are angry with President Bush for underestimating how long it would take. Our troops have made tremendous sacrifices to create democracy in Iraq, and we owe it to them to finish to the job. John McCain served in Vietnam as a member of the United States Navy. He knows firsthand how tough war is. In 1967, he was also taken as a prisoner of war.

Based on that experience and on the fact that the Vietnam conflict was not our most succesful war, we have a candidate who is patient and determined enough to finish the job, but not pledging to do so to earn votes. McCain believes we can succeed in Iraq, but he does not believe in a “Win in Iraq or Bust” mentaility. Because of our hardships in Vietnam, he won’t hesitate to pull out of Iraq if he feels we can not succeed.
Pulling out of Iraq now would be admitting failure for the U.S. and could hurt our future relations with Middle Eastern nations. It would leave Iraq in shambles and be spitting in the face of Iraqi citizens if we leave before doing what we promised to do.
With his 21-year-career in the Senate and the plans he has for the issues above, we believe John McCain is the better, more experienced candidate with the best plans for all Americans. Barrack Obama, while he would bring change to a nation starving for  something different, fails to provide immediate relief for this country and is clearly not ready to lead America at home and abroad in the next four years. We can’t afford that.