USE YOUR VOICE

One year ago, few would have predicted Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama would be their respective party nominees.

Obama’s Democratic Party nomination was remarkable and McCain’s Republican nomination was an incredible achievement, former Griffin Endowed Chair Bill Ballenger said.

“In October 2007, John McCain looked like dead politics and (Sen.) Hillary Clinton had a lead over Obama,” Ballenger said.

Obama has held the lead since late May, but it looked like it would be a close race. Ballenger said the Democrats had a stronger position than the Republicans because of President George W. Bush’s unpopularity.

Ballenger said Obama benefited from the financial crisis and bailout.

“The Wall Street meltdown knocked McCain for a loop,” he said.

He said the financial crisis reinforced the importance of the economy and far surpassed issues such as Iraq and foreign policy.

“I think its going to be Barack Obama. I think he’s going to win,” Ballenger said.

Obama’s lead grew throughout October so much that McCain pulled his campaign out of some states, including Michigan.

Student input

Campus Conservatives Vice President and Wyoming sophomore John Klumpp said he thinks McCain’s pullout from Michigan in October was a poor decision and the candidate should let his commercials run in Michigan even if he focused on other areas.

Klumpp thinks the election has been too long and stressful for the campaigns and voters alike.

“It’s been too long; Americans are kind of bored with it,” he said.

Klumpp said he thinks McCain’s campaign was managed poorly and should have attacked more of Obama’s flaws earlier.

“The Obama campaign turned later attacks against (McCain), he said.

College Democrats President Karl Bouwhuis said he thinks Obama has handled the campaign in a way that makes him look presidential.

“It’s hard to find something he hasn’t handled well. During the debates, he was attacked for a supposed connection with Bill Ayers, and he knocked that one out of the park,” the Lowell senior said.

Bouwhuis is hoping for a landslide victory for Obama, but he said, despite the polls, it is impossible to tell what the outcome will be.

Klumpp thinks the results will be closer than polls indicate and will depend on voter turnout. He said with a higher voter turnout, Obama will win.

Vice presidential impact

Ballenger said Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden has not helped or hurt Obama in the election.

He seemed like a conventional, safe choice who reassured voters and filled blanks in Obama’s résumé, he said.

Unlike her Democratic counterpart, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin may be hurting her running mate, Ballenger said.

Ballenger said she gave McCain an immediate boost after he chose her, but her popularity has decreased among independent and ticket-splitting voters.

Ballenger said the vice presidential candidates are not major contributors to the results.

“It goes back to the presidential candidates and Republican and Democrat,” he said.

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