OSU Campus Newspaper endorses Barack Obama

The Lantern, campus newspaper of Ohio State University, endorsed Barack Obama.

By endorsing Obama, The Lantern by no means doubts the leadership abilities of Sen. Hillary Clinton, who time and again, reminds us of her incredible resumé. Before this campaign season, most of us could not conceivably envision a black man or a woman occupying the Oval Office - at least not within the next several decades. However, as The New York Times editorial board aptly pointed out in its Jan. 25 endorsement of Clinton, "'Firstness' is not a reason to choose."

However, we have seen a side of Clinton throughout the last several weeks - many sides in fact - that leads us to question her tactics. In repeatedly accusing Obama of underhanded attacks, which she alleged to be right out of "Karl Rove's playbook," it is becoming clearer by the day that it is she who has become the Rove character in this novel. Her less-than-cataclysmic accusation of plagiarism last week coupled with her chief strategist's snide jabs at Obama's teenage drug use - which the Illinois senator had confessed to in his first book, "Dreams From My Father" - further illustrates the Clinton camp's evoking of the Rove-esque negativity that so intrinsically defined Bush's rise to power. And to remind us of the ever-present war, as she did during an interview Tuesday with David Brody of the Christian Broadcast Network, as a means of refuting Obama's so-called cult of personality, only serves to remind us how the war began in the first place and who voted to begin it.

Clinton's resumé is certainly impressive. Her undeniable and immense knowledge of the American political system and all its various cogs and inner workings provides her a great lure, particularly for those Americans so in shock from the complete ineptness and incompetence of the Bush administration. Brilliant as she might be, she is not the remedy for the political apathy that has effectively transfused itself throughout the last seven years. She simply has too many enemies and the Republicans have a boundless arsenal against her. The conservative electorate so put off by McCain would flock to the polls in droves should Clinton lock the nomination. Their hatred for her is far and beyond any grudges they might hold for the oftentimes centrist Arizona senator. As Bush's former deputy assistant Peter Wehner wrote for the Washington Post Feb. 3, the GOP would not have much ammunition should Obama seal the nomination. "A number of prominent Republicans I know, who would wage a pitched battle against Hillary Clinton, like Obama and would find it hard to generate much enthusiasm in opposing him," he said.

By refusing to accept campaign money from lobbyists - a practice many contend undermines the very foundation of democracy - Obama has proven politicians can feasibly run on grassroot support alone and prosper from it. It would be wonderful to have a president not beholden to the PACs as we are so used to. Unfortunately, in order for him to be a competent leader, Obama will need to learn that by ignoring special interests, he cannot hope to get much legislation passed in Congress. Although he might be through playing "the game" in Washington, his colleagues are not.

The Bush administration has left the country quaking - stuck in a horribly planned and executed war with no visible end, teetering on the edge of economic recession and reeling from fear (and future fear) of civil liberty reprisals stemming from the War on Terror. We have confidence in McCain's abilities to begin to bring the country out of this hole. It would be a great advantage to have a war veteran at the helm for once. We do, however, hold concerns for his complicity and continued support for Bush's Iraq War policies, which have only lengthened our unnecessary occupation.

In supporting Obama for president, we at The Lantern feel he is in the best possible position to follow through on his plans, to unite the country behind a single cause and begin to fix the fractured nation Bush will have left behind next January. As Caroline Kennedy wrote of Obama Jan. 27 for the Times, "I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them," she wrote. "But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president - not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans."