You wouldn’t know it from watching the tabloid-ready circus that passes for a debate these days, but politics is serious business.

Politicians lie, cheat, and frequently contradict themselves — all in the name of winning. Don’t listen to your mother; any politician will tell you that it is whether you win or lose, and — sorry to say — it doesn’t matter how you play the game.

You know those kids in school, the really annoying ones who whine to the professor after class because they’re quite sure their Lacanian analysis of Harry Potter deserved a solid A, not an A-minus? There’s a name for them: grade grubbers.

Presidential candidates are just like those Type A students — only it’s votes that they’re after, not grades. And — to get those votes — they will do anything from color coding their lecture notes to sleeping with the professor.

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I wouldn’t call this an endorsement.

By that I mean that the word “endorsement” conjures in the mind images of newspapers and important people throwing their clout behind a politician in order to get them elected. I am not important enough to deliver such “endorsements” — I’ll leave that to The DP, The New York Times and Ted Kennedy.

In the most humble terms, here is why I think Hillary Clinton should be president.

Senator Clinton has shown consistency in being an effective manager of people in the United States Senate. She has also shown she knows how Congress works and that she is an effective politician in her own right. If she were to try and change anything, or even be a wholesale agent for change, like Senator Obama wants to be, she will know what to change, and how to go about doing it without greatly angering a lot of people who could make life difficult for him.

Universal health care is an issue she has championed for years and I have admired her for it. She made many enemies when she tried back in the early nineties, but now people pine for it, as inequality in wealth in this nation has continued to grow. We know that this is an issue close to her heart and that she will eventually decide to expend the political capital to achieve her vision.

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This is the last in a four part series — my reaction to each of the opinion pieces the candidates write for The DP and finally my reaction to The DP’s endorsement. I write purely critiquing each candidate’s piece, and not from my own political point of view.

The DP’s argument for endorsing Senator Clinton is persuasive. It is definitely a clear argument to say that “hope alone” isn’t enough to place someone in the Oval Office.

Time is also on Senator Obama’s side. He has yet to serve a full term in the United States Senate, and The DP makes the point that a better demonstration of his capabilities in a national theatre would place him better to be president at a later date.

The DP also hails Senator Clinton as a “successful champion for change.” I’m not sure if this is quite right. I think of the Senator more as the agent of how to make the existing system work well, as opposed to wholesale change.

A big chunk of the editorial is devoted to healthcare, which has been demonstrably close to Senator Clinton’s heart for many years now. I come from a country with universal healthcare. The British National Health Service may have huge, perhaps even insurmountable, problems of its own, but it is there for all who need it.

That must be appealing in any country without universal healthcare, but here in America, the world’s wealthiest nation, it must be increasingly galling to many that it doesn’t exist here.

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This is the third in a four part series — my reaction to each of the opinion pieces the candidates write for The DP and finally my reaction to The DP’s endorsement. I write purely critiquing each candidate’s piece, and not from my own political point of view.

A strong editorial from the Senator, which was more inclusive of policy than I had expected. This is a very big plus since it addresses the issue of Senator Obama being perceived by some as “policy-lite.”

The fight against Senator McCain has already started. The opponents are now “Bush-McCain Republicans.” I’m not sure the two can be quite roped together (apart from their position on the war), but it certainly is the way to beat McCain.

The last thing I think most voters want is another Bush presidency. The phrase has to be coined early so it becomes part of normal political language by the time of the general election.

The Senator says a lot of great things.

He talks of whipping the Congress back into shape and curbing the power of lobbyists. I’d like to point out that this is so much easier said than done, but it is still a valid and extremely admirable view to take and hold. If you are going to be the candidate for change, you better put your money where your mouth is — or not, I guess, when it comes to lobbyists.

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This is the second in a four part series — my reaction to each of the opinion pieces the candidates write for The DP and finally my reaction to The DP’s endorsement. I write purely critiquing each candidate’s piece, and not from my own political point of view.

I’ve read this piece a couple of times now, and compared to Senator McCain’s contribution, this is infinitely better. I have no compunction in saying that this is an extremely strong piece. Senator Clinton gave many reasons why she should be elected president. Coupled with these are plans with numbers (oh, how numbers make everything more convincing).

I pour caution on a couple of things. First, the Senator’s promise to “create” five million more “green jobs.” Sorry Senator, but I can’t let you off that easy.

The government does not create jobs, unless you are planning a new Department of Greenness or just planning on giving the EPA five million more people. The Senator must therefore explain how she expects to encourage the generation of five million green jobs. That’s a huge number and requires much further explanation. Right now, it smacks of an empty campaign promise.

(Empty? Surely not! You mean she might not have meant what she said?)

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This is the first in a four part series — my reaction to each of the opinion pieces the candidates write for The DP and finally my reaction to The DP’s endorsement. I write purely critiquing each candidate’s piece, and not from my own political point of view.

Today I cover yesterday’s piece by Senator John McCain.

To call this editorial a poor piece of electioneering would be generous. At absolutely no point does he actually say why people should vote for him to be president. The entire piece is a commentary of youth involvement in politics, and how amazed he is by it. Then again, he doesn’t need to win anything til November so I guess his campaign doesn’t really care very much about this article.

It shows.

At one point, he states that his daughter, Meghan “is proving that young people are participating in the political process without losing their sense of self and authenticity.”
No, Senator, while your daughter is our age and it is admirable that she is campaigning for her dad, young people are proving that young people are participating in the political process.

Does he really need his daughter to tell him what is plainly evident?

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Quakers, are you ready for your close-up?

It’s all eyes on Pennsylvania, and the entire Clinton clan swooping through campus one by one is only the beginning.

Since — as Eric reported — you showed no kindness to MC Rove (who would?), I thought a guide on how not to treat your future political guests might come in handy.

1. Don’t throw pie. Seriously, that’s so 1914. Yet just five years ago, Nader was pied while endorsing Camejo, a Green Party candidate in California. Camejo then attributed the attack to the Democratic Party’s jealousy of the GP’s growing popularity. Wait, what? Okay, okay — if you need to pie someone, Nader is an excellent choice.

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I would just like to begin by pointing and laughing at those who were reportedly in line at 6:45 a.m. for Clinton tickets (box office opened at ten). I turned up at 9:50 and, though the line was very long, was in possession of my ticket a mere five minutes after the Clintonettes (as I shall call his most hardcore fans).

Security was tight (ish). It was both fascinating and exciting to the see the Secret Service agents doing their duties. I’d never seen any of them before, and I guess my life isn’t that different now I have.

And he was late. Boy was he late. Though not the President any more, Bill Clinton managed to live up to the “Clinton Standard Time” reputation we all know him for.

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The race for the Democratic nomination has officially gotten ugly.

In neighboring Norristown, Pa. last Thursday, Jose Ortiz stabbed his brother-in-law, Sean Shurelds, after a political dispute while the two were watching the Democratic debate. Shurelds, an Obama supporter, complained that Clinton was “trashing” Barack unfairly. Ortiz, a staunch Clinton backer, took offense. Shurelds recalls the conversation as follows:

Shurelds: Obama is winning this thing!
Ortiz: He can’t win, be realistic.
Shurelds: Let’s see how realistic you are when he wins.

With that brilliant last retort, there’s no doubt that Shurelds won the war of words. But Ortiz, whose candidate proclaims she is a “fighter“, then took matters into his own hands by plunging a kitchen knife into his brother-in-law’s stomach. Shurelds sustained spleen, lung and diaphragm injuries. Ortiz is in county jail and if convicted of felony assault, could face a more serious injury: disenfranchisement.

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On Monday, I woke up at 10:45 a.m. Sometimes my loud roommate wakes me up earlier, but she slept through class and ruined my chances of seeing Bill Clinton. Girls can be so passive aggressive!

Bill’s coming to campus, and tickets for Thursday’s “performance” sold out in less than 40 minutes. That’s pretty impressive. Only pop culture favorites like the Super Bowl and Girl Power concerts sell out faster. (Note: Clinton is more sought after than Sporty Spice. It’s a fact from my childhood.) 

Clinton has this paradox-mystique thing going on. He’s likable but suspect, popular yet polarizing. He’s the most charismatic Protestant to have ever step foot in the White House. Because honestly, would anybody want to “make love” to Karl Rove? Obviously not. He looks like Wilbur. 

I’m quite annoyed that I can’t see Clinton because I have a really big crush on — I mean, I’m interested in what he has to say.

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