Democrats must unite for the greater good

Democrats must unite for the greater good

EDITOR:

As the Democratic presidential primary season continues, it has become evident that the Democratic Party is struggling to find balance between two exceptional candidates. Squabbles have broken out between Clinton and Obama supporters who vehemently claim that they will refuse to vote for the other should their candidate not win the Democratic nomination. The presidential election should not be about race or gender; it should be about qualifications and ability.

Personally, I am an devoted supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton and fervently hope that her campaign prevails to win both the nomination and the White House. However, should Sen. Barack Obama win the nomination, he will receive my vote in November and my support. I find it wholly unconscionable and senseless for Democrats to claim that they will vote for Sen. John McCain in November simply because “their candidate” didn’t win the nomination.

Unfortunately, life is about compromise and so too is politics. I am proud to be a member of the Democratic Party and to represent it on a collegiate level. However, we cannot allow ourselves to fall into the same trap of in-fighting that we’ve encountered in the past.

After eight years of President Bush, we have a duty to the American people to present the best leadership possible. Electing John McCain to the presidency is not going to solve any of our problems, and that is exactly what will happen if we don’t learn to put our disagreements aside.

JONI L. KONEVAL

Youngstown

X The writer is president of College Democrats at Youngstown State University

McCain must improve his appeal to Republican base

EDITOR:

Sen. John McCain’s visit to YSU was an attempt by his campaign to reach out to voters across the aisle. This is a fairly astute political maneuver, in most instances. Votes, however few, from Democratic areas count as much as those that come from Republican strongholds.

But what McCain may be overlooking is the fact that there may be far fewer votes from those bastions of Republican sentiment than he expects. While much has been made of the potential rift within the Democratic party due to their prolonged primary season, Mc–Cain may be forgetting the rift within his own party caused by his left of center views on issues such as immigration, campaign finance, the federal judiciary, and environmental policy.

While it makes sense to try and make some Democrats vote Republican, McCain should first spend a little time convincing Republicans that a vote for McCain wouldn’t just be voting Democrat.

J. BREEN MITCHELL

Youngstown

Free advice on free trade

EDITOR:

My view on NAFTA: If General Electric or General Motors builds a plant in Mexico (or China) they must keep that light bulb or car in that country and sell that product there. Simple solution.

DENNIS ORWIG

Warren