Capital Times Vol. 23 No. 4 Resident Experts Give Nod to Bush By Louise Wheeler Who will win the upcoming election? Political analysts Mike. Young and Bob Bressler agree that Bush has about 220 of the 270 votes needed to be elected. According to Bressler, professor of public affairs at Penn State Harrisburg and currently on leave at the Army War College, presidents are not elected by popular vote but by electoral vote. "The arithmetic in the electoral college is distinctly in George Bush's favor. At the present time Bush has about 220 votes, meaning all he has to do is win two of the large industrial states to win [the election]. Should he lose two of them, it is all over. Everything has got to fall into place in order for him to win." Young, professor of political science and public affairs, said it's been an uphill battle for Dukakis from the start. In Pennsylvania, the presidential race has been close but Young predicted that Bush will continue pulling away between now and Nov. 8. He points to three major factors for Bush's edge in the state: "First, Bush has been successful in painting Dukakis as a liberal (i.e. weak on defense, soft on crime, for gun control). Secondly, Dukakis has a pro- College Republicans and BSU Increase Voter Registration By Todd Ross The College Republicans and the Black Student Union have sponsored voter registration drives in an effort to get more people involved in the political process. , During each election, only a small percentage off eligible voters exercise the right to vote. "When people choose not to vote they chose to limit their own personal freedom," said Sharron Cole, director of the College Republicans. In the last election, only 51 percent of eligible voters voiced their opinion. "It's not just apathy," said Cole. "After the election, you see stories in the news of how many people did not vote. The time to talk about it is before the election." The College Republicans' drive was designed to "register as many Pennsylvania State University at Harrisburg choice position which has been attacked strongly by the pro-life movement and he has to contend with the strong Catholic force within the Democratic party (opposed to abortion). Thirdly, he has been targeted by the National Rifle Association in Pennsylvania which seriously means defeat." "This factor alone," added Young, students as possible in a short amount of time. . . and we were pleased to see the amount of enthusiasm at the drive," Cole said. Stefan Jordan, vice president of the 8.5. U., said the B.S.U. is getting people more involved in the political process. The 8.5.0 registered 35 voters during the first week of October. "We registered a lot of Democrats and independents," Jordan said. The October 5 and 6 drive sponsored by the College Republicans registered 59 Republicans, 25 Democrats and eight independents as well as securing 31 absentee ballots. "The important thing to remember, no matter what party, is that there are people all over the world fighting for the right to vote. We have the right and we should exercise it," Cole said. Continued on page 5 "could sink him." "In addition, Bush is popular in the state and Pennsylvania has a well organized Republican party," said Young. _ profes.). ).f . po science and public affairs Bressler feels that the Democrats hold a registration majority in the state. He said, "It is a state the Democrats traditionally must win." The Capital College Republican Club registers student voters. Photo by Todd Ross October 26, 1988 He points to history as an indication of this, saying that "it is possible for a Democrat to win Pennsylvania but still lose the presidency. But no Democrat since 1948, forty years ago, has won the presidency without carrying Pennsylvania." He predicted that the election is lost for Dukakis if he loses this state because he will fail to get the required votes in the electoral college. What will the outcome hold for college students? Young feels education has not been a major issue with either candidate. "Should Bush win," Young said, "he will continue the policy of the Reagan years, which means less federal money and less loans for students (and overall) not much support. If Dukakis wins, the spigot will be turned back on." Bressler thinks the outcome doesn't matter either way because both candidates will probably spend additional money on education. He said, "It is a new priority. I think it has to do with our concern for economic competitiveness and the rising cost of higher education." • He projected more money for all levels of education, with the emphaisis on opportunity in higher education and increasing the quality on the secondary and elementary levels.
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