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The race to the White House has begun, and both Democrats and Republicans have a running start. While much attention in recent weeks has focused on the Democratic primaries, President Bush and his camp of supporters and advisors have been hard at work to convince the nation that he is the right man to fix the current economic crisis and war in Iraq.
With an approval rating of just over 50 percent Bush is nonetheless struggling in recent polls. Declining to comment on the recent events pertaining to the war in Iraq, he has turned his campaign focus to the beneficial outcomes of the past four years: improved education, lower taxes and increased jobs in 2004. Bush is looking to bring his approval rating back up to post-Sept. 11, 2001, standing. A controversial proposal is in the works to do just that.
Bush is hoping for an increase in support in response to his recent proposal regarding Mexican immigrants. The proposal, which was designed to expedite the process of making illegal aliens into U.S. citizens, has become a heated issue, surely to be debated in the coming months.
Perhaps the most widely debated issue in this election season are same-sex marriages, a topic on which Bush maintains his firm position. It was during a CNN Republican South Carolina primary debate in 2000 that he was asked about gay marriage. Bush said he would "stand up and say I don't support gay marriage." And, because he has kept his opposition on this issue, many Republicans consider Bush to keep his stronghold in this year’s election for his consistency on this and many other conservative issues. This week Bush declared he would support a Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.
At universities across the nation, Bush’s approval rating varies, depending on where you look.
“I think that the Democratic primary is a circus, with Kerry acting as the ringleader,” stated University of Southern California student Meredith Brooks. “Bush has steadily improved education and is constantly working to make this country a better place. He has my vote.”
For many college students, this will be the first election in which they can vote. Unfortunately, some are abstaining.
“There is not a single candidate right for the job,” stated Cal State Fullerton student Darci Whitaker, “which is why I don’t care to vote.”
Many students, like Whitaker, feel that it is not important to vote. What they may fail to realize is that only 18 million 18- to 25-year-old voters voted in the last presidential election — a contest that was determined by a mere few thousand votes.
The war in Iraq is a still a major issue and America’s ongoing involvement in the occupied nation remains a top concern for all Americans, including students.
“I want to see the Iraqi conflict resolved,” Pepperdine senior Sarah Schulman said. “I think Bush has an advantage because he knows the ins and outs of the situation and has the ability to effectively solve it.”
Come November, Bush is looking to retain control of the White House he narrowly won four years ago. However, like that election, it may come down to a photo finish.
Submitted February 26, 2004
MALIBU, CA
