Clinton a healthier representation than any other candidate
I am voting for Hillary Clinton. Although I do not agree with bipartisan politics, if I must choose one of the two evils, I believe that the Democratic Party better represents my political views and objectives.
I am not a bleeding-heart liberal, and in many respects fancy myself a conservative who refuses to vote Republican. After eight years of Bush, I am more than ready for a change.
In addition, I would like to see a woman as president. For being so "progressive," the United States is still stuck on the notion that the free world needs to be represented by a white man. I might have considered some other Democratic candidate, but there seems to be some sort of movement against Clinton in all her feminine glory.
She has been in the White House for two presidential terms and, although it was second-hand experience, it is more than many other candidates have had. She also dealt with a very public and emotional scandal with dignity and grace.
Most of all, I am voting for Clinton because, as the only female candidate, she refuses to dumb herself down and play the damsel in distress as our society frequently expects women to do.
Kristen Griffiths, an architecture senior, can be reached via [email protected]
Clinton the top choice, but voters will likely select the former New York City mayor
As an idealist, I would choose Hillary Clinton. As First Lady she had a front-row seat to how things are done from the White House. When asked how she would operate as president, Mrs. Clinton does not speak from a hypothetical viewpoint.
Hillary Clinton is no lightweight; she is a senator from a state which – much like California – tends to set trends for the rest of the nation. The people of New York are as fickle in supporting their politicians as they are in rooting for their sports franchises. Clinton can get the job done, or else her constituents would have sent her packing long ago.
However, as a realist, my vote goes to another candidate and even another party – Republican Rudy Giuliani. He has the most appeal to the greatest number of voters. His stance on the issues falls all over the spectrum, and such a position sways those voters who are also midline on the political scale, and this could catapult Giuliani into the White House. Though he was only a mayor, he led New York City when so many people looked for a beacon of strength during our nation’s dark turn six years ago. Such reliance on Giuliani – which trumped the nation’s turn to the sitting President for strength – is enough to show that "Rudy the Rock" can handle crisis amid chaos and be the leader this nation needs.
Santiago Lopez, an English senior, can be reached via [email protected]
John Edwards would be the best bet for the nation, but Giuliani stands to gain the most ground
If I had to choose a candidate that I would want to win the 2008 presidential elections, I would pick the former senator from North Carolina, John Edwards. Edwards’ vision for the future allows for a healthcare system that is driven by the patient, not by the greed of insurance companies.
He champions individual rights in the case of abortion and gay marriage, leaving each up to the voters of each state. He plans to open up paths to higher education for lower income families by subsidizing the first year of college for those who work part time.
Lastly, his vision for Iraq is a critical but realistic vision: we should never have gone in and we must leave, but we cannot just pull out and leave a vacuum in our place.†
From a realistic position, the candidate that I see winning the election is former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Giuliani has shown that he is adept at leading in times of crisis, as evident in his role of helping New York deal with the horrible aftermath of Sept. 11.
He appeals to both Democratic and Republican voters because of his broad views on issues such as taxes, abortion and gay marriage. He ardently supports the war in Iraq and views Iran as a growing threat with ambitions similar to those of al-Qaeda.
His combination of liberal social policies and conservative tax and foreign policies draw in many of the disenfranchised voters who view the fringes of both parties as destroying American politics. Giuliani may just be the saving grace for the Republicans if he wins the 2008 election.
Kris Clancy, a political science senior, can be reached via [email protected]
