Presidential candidates deserve careful consideration

By Melissa Tav
The Collegian

LAST WEEK, I was interviewing some students for my journalism class and the topic at hand was Hillary Clinton’s recent announcement that she will run for president in 2008.

Oddly, one student I interviewed had no idea who she was.

The truth is, many Fresno State students are uninformed and uninterested when it comes to politics.

I’ll be honest, politics is not my core area of interest. It’s not even anywhere near the top of my list of interests, not like good music and Colin Farrell.

However, as a college student, I understand the importance of politics and how it can impact my life.

So I try to stay informed and you should too.

To those unaware, Clinton is a former first lady and is now the Democratic Senator from New York.

If she wins in 2008, she will be the first woman in the history of America to become president.

Barack Obama is also running in 2008. Does his name ring a bell?

He’s actually the Democratic Senator from Illinois. He is also African-American, hence raising an interesting question.

Would you rather see the first black man or the first woman take the Oval Office by storm?

If you are not an informed voter, it is very easy to judge right off the bat and base your vote on superficial factors.

The truth is, race or sex should not even play a role in earning votes, but it does and it will come 2008.

Four out of the six students I interviewed said they would vote for Hillary just because she is a female and having a female in office would drastically change the world.

Will it really?

It makes me wonder if her policies even play a hand at garnering their votes.

Yes, Clinton is female and that’s great. But she’s more than that. She has strong issues she supports.

The same goes for Obama. He’s a handsome man, and I bet females everywhere will go gaga over him.

But really, if you look past that glowing smile of his, you’ll realize that Obama has been a rising star in the Democratic Party for the past year.

I like the prospects these two are bringing to the table and I’m not even a Democrat.

All I’m saying is that if you are going to vote (and I hope you do), then at least vote for a cause you’re passionate about.

No ladies, that doesn’t mean Obama’s smile.

I mean, vote for the issues. Take a stand on something worth fighting for.

I would personally love to see either a female or an African-American take the office. Either one would present great strides in changing the course of history.

But what I would love even more is for students to get out there and vote for something that goes beyond race, looks or sex.

The race is still a year away, but it’s never too early to get on Google and research the issues involved.

But if you can’t tear yourself away from Myspace long enough to do that, it’s quite alright. I hear Clinton and Obama have fancy Myspace pages of their own.

So go ahead, take a look and get informed in the process.

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