Obama and college students

This has been an important election for college students across the nation. These younger voters have been casting their votes in the primaries and making a big impact on candidate victories. The one candidate that has benefited the most from this increased college voter base has to be Barack Obama. As a college student, and a supporter of Obama, I have a few points to address in regard to this voting trend.

Any news coverage I’ve seen regarding college-aged voters who support Obama, almost makes me want to cringe. Many articles that I’ve read in recent months tend to paint these voters as naive and uninformed, and I think that is because many of them are. Obama has the ability to inspire and bring hope to people, and I firmly believe this is a strong attribute. His speeches are powerful, and have proven to unite people together and feel that they are a part of something important. But inspiration alone is not enough.

Inspiring speeches are the icing on the cake, but not the substance of a campaign. Because of his amiable nature and hopeful rhetoric, Obama has become something of an abstract idea that voters can mold into whatever form they want to in their minds. Half of the voters I’ve heard interviewed about Obama act like they don’t even know where he stands on a single issue, but simply like the way he acts or sounds. For this reason I’m torn. I’m glad that people are supporting the same candidate that I am, but I’m disappointed that they don’t take the time to really find out who they’re voting for.

This may seem like an inappropriate blog entry to write about the candidate I’m supporting, but I’m just trying to make a point. Regardless of how you feel about Obama, research candidates before you vote for them. You don’t have to become a political junkie, but at least look at the issues. Don’t vote for Huckabee because he knows Chuck Norris, or Hillary because she’s a woman, or McCain because he’s a war hero, and certainly not Obama simply because he can write a good speech. Vote for them because of what they stand for and how they will lead the nation. Everything else comes after that.

The Political Nutcase

“There is a tragic flaw in our precious constitution, and I don’t know what can be done to fix it. This is it: only nutcases want to be president.” -Kurt Vonnegut

Presidential candidates are a breed of their own. As much as they try to relate to the general public, it is clear that they have a different drive than the typical American. They all may not necessarily be complete nutcases, but Vonnegut hits an interesting point in the quote. When someone decides to run for President, they are also making a decision to take part in the game that goes with it. This game involves a “do whatever it takes” mentality that must always be a leading guide in decision making. An important question emerges from this and begs asking: What motivates these people to play this game, and to seek leadership over the entire country?

I would like to think that these candidates are running solely because they want to make America a better place, but this is not the complete reality. By the mere suggestion that each candidate proclaims, that they are the person to lead the nation, there is revealed a drive that hints at an inner-motivation.

Time magazine recently published an article by Michael Kinsley entitled, “Why They Really Run”. The article makes a suggestion as to the real motivation behind these campaigns.

“Ladies and gentlemen, they are running because they are ambitious. No, really, they are. You probably suspected as much…But the purest form of ambition is political ambition, because it represents a desire to rule over other people.”

I’m not so cynical to assume that none of these candidates care at all about the country, I believe they do. But, since there is a quest for power in competition with a responsibility to America there will always be an internal struggle. The scale between these two motivators may vary from candidate to candidate, but the struggle is there.

Because political ambition is a leading motivator, important qualities like humility and selflessness will not be any candidate’s defining attribute. The drive to rule must come first, and it must be stronger than any other candidate’s drive in order to win. For this reason, the U. S. could never elect a president who was motivated to help others more than himself/herself. Truly respectable people, who contain admirable traits wouldn’t last a second in the campaign we’ve seen over the last year. Imagine a Mother Teresa or even a Jesus Christ trying to run for President today. It’s hard to imagine a truly respectable individual duking it out and bickering over so many trivial matters in a quest for power fueled by a driving ambition. Besides, whose side would Jesus run on anyway?