The Whitworthian

Issue date: 11/13/07

It's time to decide who gets to run for president. The press is telling us we need to choose between Hillary and Rudy. They're wrong. Those two are not the best candidates for president. Nor are they the only options.

Consider this analogy: You have only two sources of electricity in the United States. You may buy electricity from a coal plant, which generates energy from a limited resource, pollutes our atmosphere, destroys mountains, poisons aquifers and can create acid rain; or you may buy electricity from a nuclear power plant which also generates energy from a limited resource, creates toxic waste, is incredibly expensive and runs the constant risk of trespass or meltdown. You face a dilemma.

You'd reasonably rather choose a third option. Thankfully, after some investigation, there's more than two options. You discover your energy company allows you to purchase electricity from solar plants, wind farms and tide farms. That's a relief.

Hillary Clinton is the coal plant. She's part of the outdated establishment. She censors people at her speeches, accepts more donations from defense companies than any other candidate and acts in their interests instead of her constituents. For instance, she voted to invade Iraq. Democrats are not supposed to receive much funding from "defense" contractors, because Democrats prefer to talk rather than fight.

Jimmy Carter is the epitome of Democratic foreign policy. But Hillary seems more neo-conservative, in that she's a warmonger.

The United States was created as a response to dynasties. There's a reason George Washington stepped down after two terms. The president facilitates citizens to lead themselves; no one person or family is supposed to centralize authority. Don't let the Clintons and Bushes run our country.

Rudolph Giuliani is the nuclear plant. He offers the promise of immense improvements in our society, but at a cost. Giuliani strong armed the way to the beautification and gentrification of New York City, but strong arm tactics are dangerous. Giuliani is likely to trespass our rights just as he treaded on blacks, teachers and the homeless in New York.

He supports Bush's policies on Iraq, domestic surveillance and torture. It is probable we won't see many changes if Giuliani is elected. Nuclear plants are financially irresponsible; likewise, Giuliani left a $4.8 billion budget deficit when he left the mayorship.

Lastly, Giuliani may meltdown. He has in the past. He cut funding to the Brooklyn Art Museum because they showed art Giuliani considered offensive. He claims that the president has the authority to arrest citizens with no judicial review. Worst of all, Giuliani has made a "promise" that if Iran continues to pursue nuclear energy, "We will prevent them or we'll set them back five or 10 years."

War: if it didn't work the first time, try, try again.

Thankfully, we're not limited to two choices for president. Just as you have access to alternative, renewable energy sources, you also may vote for a candidate who is not going to pollute our political environment and international relations.

To be fair, Clinton and Giuliani are not the only poisonous candidates; there are others who will operate against the interests of American citizens. Any member of the establishment, the elite, which includes the Bushes, the Clintons, the Kennedys, Giuliani, McCain, and Fred Thompson (he's spent $17 million of his own money on his campaign), will listen to the big corporations before they listen to you. These people belong to that Good-Ol'-Boys Club that decides who will be the next president by drawing straws.

Which is why you should overrule them by electing a candidate who they exclude from their club. Do your research. Investigate the other candidates.

There's Ron Paul on the Republican side and Dennis Kucinich on the Democratic side; they're the only candidates who voted against invading Iraq. Paul is a true conservative. He favors limiting the power of the president. He's promised to withdraw troops from Iraq within 2-3 months if he's elected. He's gaining a lot of support from our peers. On Nov. 5, www.thisnovember5th.com raised $4.3 million for Paul's campaign, in less than 24 hours. The establishment hates him as much as citizens love him; Fox News unabashedly censored Paul a few weeks ago, at which point people around the world used YouTube to destroy Fox's claim that the network is "fair and balanced."

I don't know much about Kucinich but a number of my friends have advocated him as a response to the societal divide we're experiencing domestically and internationally. I do know he's leading the impeachment efforts against Bush and Cheney. His Web site says he, like Ron Paul, wants to restore to citizens the liberty that Bush and Cheney have eroded. He wants to develop socially responsible, ethical trade policies, which includes ending American participation in NAFTA. Go watch his speeches on YouTube. In fact, go watch YouTube speeches by all the candidates. Do it. I dare you.

Then there's Barack Obama, who's accepted the lowest percentage of donations from Political Action Committees (PACs), the loophole through which companies buy candidates. Hillary has accepted the most, at three quarters of a million dollars from PACs. Obama has demonstrated his eagerness to cooperate and collaborate across party lines in hopes of improving our quality of life. He's relatively new to politics; if we act now, we may salvage him before he stumbles into the establishment's employment.

Of course, if you really want America to thrive, regardless of your party, write in Stephen Colbert. I'm serious. He offers many of the skills the executive office really needs right now: intelligence, wit, great public relations, a finger held high in the air to the elite, and another finger accurately gauging the temperature of society. He brings a huge portion of good humor to a nation in dire need of a lengthy laugh.

I'm intentionally refraining from advocating a particular candidate. The next president is your choice. I prefer you to research and consider who you want as the figurehead for our country. This is your deal, and it's time you took responsibility for it. Our peers make up one quarter of the possible voting population and within a few years we'll compose one third. We have as much opportunity as any other age group to affect the upcoming primaries. Please: register, research and choose.

Keep in mind, the candidate for president, and the candidates for Senate and the House that will best serve the United States are not those with the most money or the best press; nor are they necessarily the candidates who promise to pass the legislation you want. The best candidates, the ones you want to elect, are those who follow the central principles of U.S. government, who cooperate regardless of party, who make win-win decisions that improve every citizen's lives, and they are those who use wisdom, not politics, to lead.

Galen Sanford is an opinions columnist and a senior majoring in philosohpy. Contact him at galen.sanford@whitworthian.com.

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