Mixed responses over final debate

By Nicole LaPrade

Students filled the Wiegand Room in the Arts and Sciences Building to watch President George Bush and Senator John Kerry square off in their final October debate on Oct. 13.

Those students who were unable to find seating in the packed conference room watched the debate, sponsored by the communication and political science departments, on a monitor in the lobby. They sat in folding chairs and some even perched in the stairwell.

Some students declared the debate a victory for Bush while others said Kerry won. Even more students said it was a draw.

"In certain areas they both excelled," Political Science professor Kenneth Montojo said. "Bush was more passionate about his material, but at the same time he also seemed to be more driven to the campaign slogan kind of responses."

"Regarding whether they answered the questions, I think both of them were very evasive and both of them were quite pointedly attacking each other, which is normal. There were many ambiguities and overall I would have called it a draw," Montojo continued.

The debate focused on domestic issues such as health care, tax cuts, social programs and education.

"Both the candidates spoke mostly to seniors and to swing states," Political Science professor Elsa Chen said. "Kerry should have made a stronger point about the deficit and how it affects young people."

Throughout the debate, Bush focused on education and the "No Child Left Behind" law that was passed during his term. Kerry, in comparison, continued to bring up Bush's "tax cut for the wealthy."

When candidates were asked how their faiths would influence their decisions in office, both Kerry and Bush acknowledged their religiousness. They spoke of how their beliefs affect their views on such issues as abortion and gay marriage.

"I'm mostly concerned with social issues like abortion and gay marriage and where faith becomes involved with politics," sophomore Eli Glad said. "I'm very against that and I think that there should be a very defined separation between church and state and I think it's been crossed so many times."

Kerry supports a woman's right to choose, but does not encourage abortion. Bush is pro-life.

"It is almost guaranteed that whoever the next president is will be appointing a replacement, or several, to the Supreme Court," Chen said. "And the Supreme Court is very closely divided right now on the issue of abortion."

Both Bush and Kerry believe that marriage is strictly the union between a man and a woman. But Kerry is not opposed to increasing rights of homosexual couples. Bush wants to propose a constitutional amendment defining marriage for fear that "activist judges" define marriage on their terms. When asked about gay marriage, Kerry brought up Vice President Dick Cheney's daughter, Mary Cheney. Kerry's running mate John Edwards also referenced her in the vice presidential debate last week.

"I thought that it was completely unnecessary," Chen said. "I thought that it drew attention away from the actual substance of the issueDo you favor civil unions? Do you favor a constitutional amendment banning gay marriages? That's the issue."

Social Security was another main topic of discussion. Neither candidate offered a clear solution to the problem, but both recognized that the program will face significant problems in the future.

Kerry listed many social programs, like government health care, that he would like to provide, but he did not mention how he would pay for them.

"There are only two ways to reduce the deficit," Chen said. "One is to raise taxes, the other is to cut funding. Neither are going to say that they want to raise taxes or cut spending, but you know they have to."

To learn more about claims made by both candidates and evaluate their accuracy, visit factcheck.org, a non-partisan Web site from the Annenburg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.

*Contact Nicole LaPrade at (408) 554-4546 or nlaprade@scu.edu.