2008 Woodie Awards
Ohio primary has place in presidential election
Issue date: 2/5/08 Section: Editorials
This Feb. 5, Tuesday takes on a special meaning. Unlike in election years past, this Super Tuesday will almost certainly be but another step toward the general election for president of the United States in November. In the Democratic camp, counter-punch victories in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida have set up back-and-forth campaigns for both Senator Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Senator Barack Obama (D-Ill.) that will most likely come down to a delegate race as the primary season continues. For the Republicans, while Super Tuesday could mean victory for Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), fund-raising may come into play and allow the financially strong Mitt Romney to make a major national comeback.
In the recent history of the primaries, Ohio has been in the backseat. The dominance of incumbents and early wrap-up primary victories have made Ohio's March vote appear too late to voters to really matter. This election cycle, however, will mean that we at Miami University should pay close attention to the election returns Tuesday night and understand the important impact that both Democratic and Republican outcomes could have on the political energy around this campus. The editorial board of The Miami Student believes that the university administration and student political groups should work together to prepare our community for the continuing, post-Super Tuesday primary race.
It has been well over a decade since Miami has been visited by a national candidate in a forum that is completely open to the public. This lack of exposure at Miami should be immediately remedied, as should the current quiet work being done by campus political groups. While College Democrats and College Republicans want to work within the larger community, these groups should renew their focus on the campus itself and the student community in order to charge the debate and spur discussion well ahead of Ohio's March 4 primary. Non-partisan organizations and "Students for (insert cause)" are moving well ahead of groups like Associated Student Government-as amazing as this development is, it also means that ASG needs to do more to match these groups and place itself in a position to fill in any educational or logistical gaps that occur. As for student political groups, this means that they should have been more active in promoting voter registration, while continually providing voter information and not merely waiting until after the primaries have been decided to endorse the obvious.
In the recent history of the primaries, Ohio has been in the backseat. The dominance of incumbents and early wrap-up primary victories have made Ohio's March vote appear too late to voters to really matter. This election cycle, however, will mean that we at Miami University should pay close attention to the election returns Tuesday night and understand the important impact that both Democratic and Republican outcomes could have on the political energy around this campus. The editorial board of The Miami Student believes that the university administration and student political groups should work together to prepare our community for the continuing, post-Super Tuesday primary race.
It has been well over a decade since Miami has been visited by a national candidate in a forum that is completely open to the public. This lack of exposure at Miami should be immediately remedied, as should the current quiet work being done by campus political groups. While College Democrats and College Republicans want to work within the larger community, these groups should renew their focus on the campus itself and the student community in order to charge the debate and spur discussion well ahead of Ohio's March 4 primary. Non-partisan organizations and "Students for (insert cause)" are moving well ahead of groups like Associated Student Government-as amazing as this development is, it also means that ASG needs to do more to match these groups and place itself in a position to fill in any educational or logistical gaps that occur. As for student political groups, this means that they should have been more active in promoting voter registration, while continually providing voter information and not merely waiting until after the primaries have been decided to endorse the obvious.
Be the first to comment on this story