Barry's Human, Too

Every politician — even Saint Barack Obama — is only as honest as we force him to be.

The 2008 presidential election tends to trigger my gag reflex. Corporate America must love how docile we have all become. While they fill Washington with lobbyists arguing over actual policy we sit in our homes listening to uninformed network anchors, whose journalism credentials leave Pulitzer turning in his grave, arguing over which is worse: racism, sexism, or disrespect of the elderly.

But what really makes me sick, is that when I wield the mighty finger of shame, I find myself pointing at a short be-freckled undergrad who happens to be writing this column. When I talk about Barack and Hillary, I do start talking about racism, the Latino vote, super delegates, and eloquence versus experience. In short, I have affirmed the network pundits, and I'm accepting a debate on their terms. And that is wrong.

I know we ambitious college students are among the smartest Americans in the country. We're young and filled with energy. We may be very cynical, but we still feel deep inside that if America really wanted to, she could turn around and fix herself. We can follow the issues, and know the facts, and ask the right questions, because this is exactly what we do in our classes.

But so far, we have not shown any evidence of our capabilities. In 2004 the American youth sat idly by as the retirees and businessmen reelected the most inept president in history. In 2008 we willingly worship a candidate with a lackluster voting record that falls squarely in the regime of "orthodox democrat," creating what many have called a "cult of personality."

It's not that I have anything against Obama or his supporters. It's just that politicians are not the light from which we all feed. They are human beings with flaws and finite intelligence, who just happen to like managing entire countries. No matter who that person happens to be, he must be questioned and referred to with a degree of skepticism — even Barack.

Similarly, politicians (like Clinton) switch their stances on issues to gain votes — big deal! Isn't this democracy in action? Do we really want someone who will stubbornly continue a failed strategy despite cries of outrage from his constituents?

These men and women will make mistakes, vote in the wrong direction and always gain misrepresentative information from the most vocal constituents (read: lobbyists). That's why it's our job to be just as loud and obnoxious. How many letters have you written to your senator? Yeah — me neither.

It's time for the American youth to rise to occasion and start changing the course of our nation. We have largely ignored the quagmire formerly known as Iraq, even as the U.S. death toll snuck past 4,000 this past weekend. Obama's right when he says we need change. But it cannot come from him or any of the leaders in Washington. It needs to come from us, from constituents.

So how can we, the youth of the nation, now effect change we can believe in? I believe the very first step is to hold both our Democratic candidates completely accountable on Iraq, regardless of which one we support. Both Senator Clinton and Senator Obama are very quick to announce how they feel about Iraq. Senator Obama (as opposed to Senator Clinton) is also willing to announce what he's said about Iraq from the very beginning.

But both candidates are less vocal about their voting records on the war. Hillary supported the initial invasion. Barack voted against a hard deadline for withdrawal. Both voted to continue massive funding of the effort. Both are also unwilling to really address specifics of withdrawal. They both want to get combat troops out within the year, but what about the tens of thousands of troops protecting corporate contractors? Why do both continue to say we will fight Al Qaeda "at home and abroad?" Does this include Al Qaeda in Iraq? If so, how does this make them any different from John McCain or George W. Bush?

Come late summer, Puerto Rico will hold the last major primary, and neither Barack nor Hillary will have the 2,025 delegates needed to declare an undisputed victory. The lobbyists will lobby, the party leaders will attempt to lead, and idiotic, uninspired and out of touch senators like John Kerry will be the ones deciding this election and setting the tone for the general election. Worst of all, the corporate "news" networks will once again attempt to project their interests onto the American people, issuing polls and news sound bites, trying to tell us what we want in our president. We can prevent this from happening and, in the process, demand politics on our terms.

You want subsidized health care? Free college tuition for all? Would new Amtrak lines to college towns make your life easier? Would you like the next president to swear never to institute a draft? These are all policies that deeply affect us that neither candidate is too keen to discuss. We can change that, but not by continuing our "enlightened ambivalence."

In those heated weeks before the convention when our politicians are down on their knees awaiting final judgment, they will listen. The only question is who will be doing the talking. Corporate America and its network surrogates can continue to set the docket. HMOs and big oil can continue to demand policy on their terms. Or we can put aside the Keystones, hold demonstrations, write our senators and fight back.

Munier Salem is an assistant design editor at The Sun. He can be contacted at msalem@cornellsun.com [1].