Ready, set, debate!

(Editor’s note: Although the interviews were debate-style, it was not a formal, live debate.)

Jacob Dean is a junior in history and political science, and Charlie Smith is a senior in industrial and systems engineering.

1) What do you believe are the most important issues in this election?

CS: “I would say, for college students in particular, jobs are the main deal. I read an article on CNN.com the other day that said that 85 percent of college students that graduated last May are moving back in with their parents, so for college students jobs has to be the number-one issue, if that article is correct. For the USA public in general, there’s 23 million citizens who are part-time workers, unemployed or looking for a job. That has to be the number one concern for everybody.”

JD: “I think one of the most important issues that is going to be impacted by this election is taxes. It’s been largely ignored, but the fact is that we have what some people refer to as “taxmageddon” that’s going to be occurring at the end of this year. I believe that whole issue will be determined by who is elected president. If Gov. Romney is elected president, the wealthy will continue to receive enormous tax breaks at the detriment of the rest of the people. If President Obama is re-elected, middle-income tax cuts will be renewed, and we’re going to finally see the wealthy in America pay their fair share.”

2) If you could rate the last four years on a scale of 1–10, how would you rate them and why?

CS: “I think that’s a little subjective, but I think it would have to be on the lower end of the scale, either a two or three, because we’ve had 43 months of more than 8 percent unemployment. The latest polls have shown 7.8 percent unemployment without California reporting, so it is still likely over 8 percent. That’s over three years of over 8 percent unemployment. That many citizens on welfare and without work — that’s not very good. Obama killed Osama bin Laden. That’s good. He also ended a couple of wars, and those are some of his promises, but he also had a lot of promises that he didn’t fulfill that he had at the onset of his presidency. If you rate a president on what he promises at the beginning of his presidency and he doesn’t fulfill those promises, then you can’t rate it too highly.”

JD: “The last four years have been extremely hard on this country for several reasons: we were in two wars, one of which we’re out of and the other which we’re planning to get out of, we’ve had unemployment as a result of the recklessness that occurred on Wall Street during President Bush’s two terms in the White House, and we’ve had a financial collapse on a worldwide scale. I think in the face of such adversity, President Obama has done a great job strengthening the economy by doing things that we know work, such as building our roads, investing in our children with education and investing in clean energy. With that in mind, I think people will see that President Obama is the right person to lead us for the next four years. I don’t think you can necessarily rate something such as the last four years; there are a lot of things that go into being president, and I don’t believe a rating paints the whole picture.”

3) Why do you believe Gov. Romney or President Obama is best suited to lead the country for the next four years?

CS: “If we continue with the ongoing theme of jobs, Romney has spent 25 years in the private sector. His main role as leading Bain Capital as a company that turns other companies around, and he’s best suited to turn the economy around because he’s already had experience in this kind of job. He’s turned around all kinds of companies such as Sports Authority, Burger King and Staples. If we’re trying to turn the economy around and get it growing, he’s best suited for it.”

JD: “Well, there’s no better prerequisite to being elected president than having previously been president. He knows what it takes to lead this country, not just the ins-and-outs of the financial markets, but diplomacy as well. Gov. Romney couldn’t even go to the Olympics without creating a firestorm in London. President Obama knows that war should be the last recourse for disagreement and he’s been steady and firm with our enemies, approachable to our allies, and I believe he’s brought America back to where it should be as a world-class country. America suffered during the Bush administration. We were seen as a country that tortured people and didn’t stand up for the values that we had always espoused. President Obama has brought us back to be number one in the world.”

4) Why do you believe college students should support Gov. Romney or Pres. Obama?

CS: “See my answer to question one.”

JD: “That’s probably the easiest question I could answer. President Obama, by looking at his record, clearly speaks on behalf of college students all the time. He advocated for the renewal of the reduction of interest rates on student loans, more access to higher education at a cheaper rate and more GI education grants. Gov. Romney told college students to go ask their parents for a loan and to shop around for a college. President Obama really understands what it’s like to be in the position of having to finance college through loans. Only recently did he pay off his student loans. I think the important thing to remember is that President Obama is where he is today because he received a world-class education at a university in America that not many people get the opportunity to attend. Had it not been for the great education he received and the strong willingness of his mother to make sure education was his top priority, we don’t know where he’d be. He was a person of low means, had a single parent, raised mostly by his grandparents and education turned his life around.”

5) The media has described the vice presidential debate as “heated.” Do you think the debate swayed undecided voters to either side?

CS: “I wouldn’t say that there was as much of a change in the polls as some people think. I don’t think it swayed undecided voters either way.”

JD: “If there’s an undecided voter in America, I’d like to meet that person. We’re so close to the election, I’d like to meet this undecided voter and pick their brain about what they’re confused about. I think both campaigns would like to meet them as well. I think the first two presidential debates might have swayed voters on the fence, but as far as the vice presidential debate goes, I don’t believe it swayed anybody. Most people who watch the vice presidential debate already know who they’re going to vote for; in fact, most people who watch the presidential debates already know who they’re going to vote for. One of the main things that comes out debates is the spin off the debate that affects the next couple weeks. Whoever wins the last debate is probably going to win the election, because they’ll be able to continue to spin off the last debate for the rest of the cycle.”

6) Some students have expressed dissatisfaction at the two-party system that dominates American politics. What are your thoughts on independent and third-party candidates? Are there any in particular that you admire?

CS: “Yes, I like a lot of the things that the Libertarian Party stands for, such as not having as big of a role of government and allowing the private sector and free enterprise to work. I would agree that the two-party system can be very heated like we saw in the vice presidential debate, more attacks rather than focusing on the substance of answers, and I think the candidates from other parties have good things to say. I watched a little bit of the Libertarian National Convention with Ron Paul and Gary Johnson, and they had a lot of good things to say as well. You can see that the amount of attention and followers for them has increased in the past couple years. With that kind of following, you have to give them a lot of attention, and I think in the years to come we’ll start to see more of them. Since the Republican Party does have a lot of things that the Libertarian Party identifies with, I think in this election, as important as it is, I think that the Libertarians could definitely get in with the Republican Party and all of us unite and try to get things done. Going back to what Ronald Reagan said, You have to unite the Republican base.”

JD: “I think it’s admirable for anybody to stand up so strongly for what they believe that they wage an independent run for the White House. I think Ron Paul has become the most prominent third-party candidate these days. As far as the longevity of the two-party system, I think we’ll see some kind of restructuring in the next couple of years. Many people have predicted that the Republican Party has gone too far to the right. The Democratic Party, and why I’m a member, is because it’s a big tent party. We have people who are pro-life, pro-choice, pro-gay marriage and anti-gay marriage. We have a culmination of many different people from across the globe, basically, who come together and make up this party that I believe is more representative of America than any other party out there. If you really want to affect change right now, you need to join one of the two parties. The Democratic Party, to be honest, is the most receptive of any new ideas. The Republican Party in recent years, especially in the South, has become a rigid party with little flexibility and little room for new ideas.”

7) How will you celebrate if Gov. Romney is elected president?

CS: “Well, I’m graduating in December. I think that if Romney wins it’ll definitely be a time of celebration for me. I’ll probably go down to the Republican Headquarters in Auburn and celebrate with them, then go hang out with my friends somewhere and celebrate.”

8) How will you celebrate if President Obama is re-elected president?

JD: “I will probably be celebrating with fellow College Democrats at an event somewhere. (Laughs) The rest is for me to know and you to find out.”