Friday, February 15, 2007
Primary Progress
•John McCain has stayed on top as the front runner for the Republican
nomination, taking a 2-1 delegate advantage over Mike Huckabee this
week. McCain won all three Potomac state primaries (Washington D.C.,
Virginia and Maryland), and some of his colleagues have already declared
him the winner of the Republican race. McCain’s advisors released a
memo stating that it would be “mathematically impossible” for Huckabee
to win the race.
• The fight for the Democratic nomination has stayed close this week and
may continue into the convention if Hillary Clinton can win some of the
states that will be holding primaries in the next few weeks. In a recent poll
by USA Today, they’ve found that it is too close to call, though Barack
Obama is making incremental gains on Clinton.
• According to The New York Times, Hillary Clinton and her advisers
believe that they are now in a must-win position in the Ohio and Texas pri
maries, which will be held on March 4. According to an article printed on
Tuesday . Feb. 12. Clinton held a meeting with some of her donors to reas
sure them that the nomination was not slipping away. Some attendees said
that she seemed a little bit down and tired, but that she was determined to
win the upcoming states.
• Barack Obama won all three Potomac state primaries this week and
also captured victory in Louisiana
• Former Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney announced his
official endorsement of John McCain on Thursday. Romney released his
delegates and encouraged them to get behind McCain. If all of Romney’s
delegates do this, it will give McCain a total of 1,015, which is 78 short of
securiim the nomination
• Hillary Clinton is threatening to boycott future MSNBC debates after a
disparaging remark was made on air about her daughter, Chelsea, by
MSNBC employee David Shuster. Shuster was suspended for an undis
closed amount of time after saying, “Doesn't it seem as if Chelsea is sort
of being pimped out in some weird sort of way?"
Young voters may have large impact
Bv l.ennv Smith
news editor
lrsso4(>(‘' psu.edu
The 2008 presidential election is shaping up to
be one of the most exciting election seasons
in many years. Many things are still unclear
at this point oxer two weeks past Super Tuesday.
However, one thing is certain - the theme of this
election vear is "Out with the old. In with the new.”
Americans are ready for change, but it remains to
he seen w hat kind of change they are looking for. It
appears as if the Republican Party will place its
future in the hands of John McCain, something that
extreme right-wing conservatives are not very
happy about. At the same lime the Democratic Party
is virtually split in two. Hillary Clinton and Barack
Obama arc in a neck-to-neck fight for the party's
nomination
This year, more than ever, it appears as if the
deciding factor could be one very influential demo-
graphic - voting voters.
The Millennium Generation has been making
their presenees more known with eaeh passing elec
tion. IS year olds were first granted the right to vote
in 1971 and since the 1972 presidential election
between Richard Nixon and George McGovern
south voter turnout has been on the decline - until
2004.
In the presidential contest between John Kerry
and President George W. Bush, just short of 21 mil
lion Americans between the ages of 18-29 cast a
vote. The turnout w as an increase of 4.6 million vot-
I'UDEI IT LI
r\r
2000 election.
In the 2008 election, young people are staged to
make an even more impressive showing. This year,
44 million Americans between the ages of 18-29
will be eligible to vote.
“That means we are about a quarter to a fifth of
the entire electorate,” Heather Smith, Executive
Director of Rock the Vote said in an interview with
CNN. “It’s just a whole new generation, the millen
nial generation, we are not our older brothers of
Gen X. We are paying way more attention to poli
tics. By, you know, 2012 we are going to be about a
third of the voting population.”
More attention indeed. The youth’s increased
attention to politics has already been evident. The
New Hampshire primaries on Jan. 8 set the tone for
the race. Voters between the ages of 18-29 had 271
percent increase of the 2004 election.
Super Tuesday, which was on Feb. 5, was anoth
er huge night for young voters. According to CNN
exit polls, in almost every state that held a primary
or caucus the youth vote increased a large amount.
Most notably were the voters from Tennessee. In the
2000 election, 35,000 people between the ages of
18-29 cast a vote. However, in 2008, that number
quadrupled to 140,000 votes cast.
“The entire world watched as one of the most
electrifying moments in U.S. election history
unfolded on [Feb. 5],” Smith said. “Young people
are tired of being characterized as apathetic and
uninterested in politics.”
Compiled by Scott Muska
“F**k Bush” comment unnecessary
David McSwane's career could go downhill alter tin unusual printed outburst concerning President Hush
By Scott Muska
managing editor
srmsoB2<P'p s u.edu
Last September. David McSwane. the editor
in-chief of the Rocky Mountain Collegian.
Colorado State University's student newspa
per, printed a four word editorial column on then
publication's Opinion page.
It read, simply and in large, bold and uncensored
lettering, “Taser this: F**K BUSH." and created
quite the stir among not only college students, but
the entire nation.
"We felt that maybe four words were more
impactful than 250.” McSwane said in an inters iew
with CNN shortly after the piece was published,
which he says was inspired by the incident at the
University of Florida w hen a student w as tasered by
police after asking John Kerry a controversial ques
tion.
"We wanted people to understand that free speech
is something we should talk about.” McSwane said.
"We felt that this campus, for one reason or anoth
er, has been really apathetic. Too quiet. We fell that
the best way to spark that dialogue was to exercise
it ourselves." ■' 1
They sure did exercise it. in quite possibly 1 die
worst way possible. The impact and national atten
tion that those four words received has done noth
ing to enhance free speech for college students or
anyone else.
Though McSwane paints himself as a martyr in
the name of the First Amendment that put his job
and reputation on the line, he is the absolute oppo
site. In a government that utilizes the U.S.A. Patriot
Act and already has their hand in the cookie jar of
the media, the battle for free speech must be fought
with strategy, not idiotic brashness.
The phrase "F**k Bush" is a statement, sure, and
by law McSwane can say it or print it if he wants to
I’m sure it's being said all over the world at least 20
times a minute, but to use it to spark discussion or a
battle for free speech is ludicrous.
McSwane has said lime and time aeain that he
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stands by his piece til it can actually even be called
that, because in niv Newspaper Writing class, the
'■pieces” must be 5(10 winds long), and he said it
again earlier this week when it was decided that he
would be able to keep his job as editor for The
Collegian, which is somcihing I can I argue. He
should be able to keep his job. and I'm not bashing
on the First Amendment, because I tun alter all an
aspiring journalist, hut it should be used responsibi-
Iv.
The most disheartening thing about this
occurence is that McSwane may now he journalisti
cally blacklisted, despite his previous accomplish-
ments as a successful invcsiigaiive journalist.
During his senior year in high school, he pub
lished a story in a Denver newspaper that recounted
his experiences with high school tinny recruiters.
He exposal manv lies and illegal loopholes that
the recruiters were using to gel kids into military
uniforms after he went undercover as a high school
drop-out with a drug addiction.
The article was well-written, received national
attention and won numerous awards, but he's not
expressing himself through tour-word phrases.
Hopefully. McSwane has had his fill of the revo-
lutionary limelight, that spotlight that he apparently
craved so. much. 1 hope that he sitsl)d>tiiHfl|igllesk
from now on and complains harmlessly. lifcerSido.
and I hope that he writes numerous editorials about
his dissatisfaction with Bush who. 1 must point
out. doesn't seem phased by this. Bush has been
doing things his way as long as he's been in office,
and hasn't yielded to anyone. 1 don't see him
pulling out of Iraq at the urging of a college news-
paper editor.
More than anything, though. I hope that someday
McSwane and anyone who supported his outburst
reali/es that it wasn't a heroic ad. but an unneces
sary one that discredits the people who really have
fallen victim to illegitimate First Amendment
breaches: because if these ill conceived eruptions
continue, the mosi important amendment will
become less and less -.igmficnnl. especially among
the countrv \ voutli.
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