I had the privilege of attending the Democratic National
Convention on July 26.
I met numerous politicians from all around the country, and
listened to speeches from many more. In the energized excitement of
the convention, there was a lot of humor, many attacks on the
current administration and rallying cries supporting Democratic
presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry.
The charm of former President Clinton that brought back memories
of his presidency touched everyone at the event. Nothing could
detract from the charisma of all the speakers.
But in evaluating Kerry’s campaign promises, it is
discomforting to know that even the most astute political analysts
have difficulty discerning truth from rhetoric. Of all the
speakers, only a few removed themselves from the politicized
language and discussed true policy, reform and progress.
For instance, various speakers discussed the Supreme Court
decision in the 2000 presidential elections in Florida as if a
Republican conspiracy had stolen the presidency. Only one speaker
from the College Democrats admitted that Republicans did nothing
illegal or wrong but rather used the legitimate political tools
available to both parties much more skillfully and effectively.
Interestingly enough, this collegiate speaker was the only one
who offered a solution to this problem in 2004 ““ educate the
populace on how to vote correctly, and improve the voting machines,
so the recording of votes will be more accurate. This seemed to be
the most intelligent method of ensuring a successful election.
Much rides on this election. We have a highly controversial
president presiding over a very important time in U.S. history. We
are working to rebuild a country that resists our attempts of
assistance. There are terrorist threats looming over our heads and
demands for aggressive reforms at many levels of our government.
Underpinning our economic outlook are issues of education, health
care and unemployment.
President Bush’s success in addressing these issues will
be critiqued and tested in the next two months by Kerry. At the
same time, the president will remind citizens of his successes and
ask for another four years to continue the reforms and changes he
has made.
For students at UCLA, we can all expect a highly energized
campus leading up to Nov. 2. If past campus political displays and
advocacy are indicative of this fall quarter, we, too, can expect a
plethora of rhetoric accompanied by a scarcity of educated policy
ideas.
This seems to lead to a partisan split between strong supporters
of Bush and those of Kerry.
What is unfortunate is that the split will alienate many
students from the political process, diminishing the collective
power of students as an electoral block. If we are to expect
students to show interest in politics, we must suppress our overly
partisan banter.
All sides of the debate need to behave academically if we intend
to increase the voice of students and to attend to student problems
with serious solutions.
President Bush has had numerous successes during his presidency,
some of which even Clinton has praised. Meanwhile, some of
Kerry’s promises to America will probably never
materialize.
He will be constrained by the status quo: our presence in Iraq,
our war on terrorism and our recessionary economy. But he may very
well do a better job.
The real measure of success for UCLA will not come in
determining who can sling more mud in two months, but by how many
new students became engaged in the political process. That should
be our goal for Nov. 2.
Shewey is a fourth-year political science and history
student.