Spring Break
My ideal candidate...
A series of reflections brought to you by the Freshman Writing Program
Issue date: 10/31/08 Section: Ed-Op
Paula Antonio
Sophomore, Computer Science
My "ideal candidate" is something I have certainly thought about. November 2008 will be the first time that I will vote in a presidential election. I was not born in the United States, so to be able for the first time to have a say in how this country will be led is very exciting.
As for my candidate, I would want someone who is from a working class background, someone who has worked himself up from a middle class background to be the presidential candidate. Someone who can identify with most of the country - not just say he can. Someone who has worked in business and knows how to balance a budget, not just spend it. A person who asks for advice from those around him, because they have a little more experience than him, but is still a leader who can make the hard decisions. Someone who can tell the difference between right, wrong and shades of gray. That everything in the world is not about "us versus them." That it's okay to show weakness and ask for help when needed.
For me this candidate is just words on paper, but for the first time in the 28 years I've been in the United States I will be taking part in voting for our president, and to me, that reality is more exciting than what an ideal candidate on paper could ever be.
Alex Silver
Sophomore, Business Administration
Gridlock in American government has prompted a nationwide call for change.
Both Republicans and Democrats seem to be hoping for a better tomorrow, but they both must ask themselves whether either party can, or will, deliver it. I believe that the parties are interested more in promising change for the sake of getting elected than actually delivering it. The fact of the matter is, the Democrats and Republicans create issues and blow arguments out of proportion for the sake of polarizing the voting public and galvanizing more people to come out and vote for their party. Democrats and Republicans are established parties that will gain power by fostering the status quo of back-and-forth sniping between the parties where nothing gets solved - not by creating change.
Sophomore, Computer Science
My "ideal candidate" is something I have certainly thought about. November 2008 will be the first time that I will vote in a presidential election. I was not born in the United States, so to be able for the first time to have a say in how this country will be led is very exciting.
As for my candidate, I would want someone who is from a working class background, someone who has worked himself up from a middle class background to be the presidential candidate. Someone who can identify with most of the country - not just say he can. Someone who has worked in business and knows how to balance a budget, not just spend it. A person who asks for advice from those around him, because they have a little more experience than him, but is still a leader who can make the hard decisions. Someone who can tell the difference between right, wrong and shades of gray. That everything in the world is not about "us versus them." That it's okay to show weakness and ask for help when needed.
For me this candidate is just words on paper, but for the first time in the 28 years I've been in the United States I will be taking part in voting for our president, and to me, that reality is more exciting than what an ideal candidate on paper could ever be.
Alex Silver
Sophomore, Business Administration
Gridlock in American government has prompted a nationwide call for change.
Both Republicans and Democrats seem to be hoping for a better tomorrow, but they both must ask themselves whether either party can, or will, deliver it. I believe that the parties are interested more in promising change for the sake of getting elected than actually delivering it. The fact of the matter is, the Democrats and Republicans create issues and blow arguments out of proportion for the sake of polarizing the voting public and galvanizing more people to come out and vote for their party. Democrats and Republicans are established parties that will gain power by fostering the status quo of back-and-forth sniping between the parties where nothing gets solved - not by creating change.
Be the first to comment on this story