Not your typical race to the white house

Mike jamming on his guitar in front of packed stadiums, Hillary getting teary in an interview and Barack busting a move with a popular talk show host. This odd behavior isn’t coming from your favorite celebrity but rather your future president of the United States. Doesn’t sound like the typical race to the White House, does it?

Campaigning and a new generation of voters appear to be evolving. The out-of-the-ordinary behavior of the White House hopefuls could be their attempt to attract younger voters who seem to be relatively uninterested in politics. When it comes to young voters, candidates know they are up against a generation that demands to be entertained, does not willingly pick up the daily paper and wants their politics spoon fed to them. Candidates seem to be pulling out all their tricks to grab voters’ attention with the hope of then getting them to listen to their opinions on bigger issues facing America.

The media is loosing voters’ interest when they are constantly bringing up gender and race and not tackling other issues that really will change America. Some students claim to have lost interest in the election even before the primaries because they feel that the media addresses the same issues everyday. Unfortunately the media seems to be more interested in debating whether America is ready for a women president, or an African American president rather than discussing how the candidates stand on issues. Debates haven’t been providing voters with much more clarity because the candidates are so focused on making distinctions between themselves and their opponents, for example who is more for “change” and who has “more experience” that the debate has become highly partisan rather than focusing on solutions to the real problems that are facing America such as immigration, Iraq, the war on terror and healthcare.

A candidate’s color of their skin or their gender is not going to play a role when it comes to them making decisions on whether or not to bring our troops home or reform taxes in America. Young voters should not be discouraged. They owe it to themselves and to the future of our country to get up on issues and vote accordingly because their vote does count.

Results from Super Tuesday and the primaries since then have proven that neither party is ready to nominate their candidate. The Republican Party is hesitant to stand behind Sen. John McCain 100 percent and Gov. Mike Huckabee has gained bounce in the recent primaries. On the Democratic side, Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barrack Obama are neck and neck. It is possible that neither party will announce their candidate before their respective national conventions, which would be a first time in many decades.

During an exciting and certainly important time in U.S. history, it’s critical for everyone to get out and vote. There is a common misconception that the primaries are not important. It’s only a primary right? Wrong.

Many Cabrini students will have their opportunity to vote and be a part of the change that America is desperately seeking in the Pennsylvania primaries, scheduled April 22. Students must register to vote 30 days prior to each election.

Cabrini resident students need to know they can vote in Radnor if they register here, this is especially important if it is not convenient to go home in April or November. Plan Ahead! At this time, the college has not made any strides to encourage or make it convenient for students to register to vote. On this website, http://www.dos.state.pa.us/, one can find information on registering, where to vote and getting involved in their party’s campaign.