The Statesman has decided that, ahead of the largest presidential primary in United States history, we will endorse one candidate from each major political party. In doing so, we hope to accomplish several things.
First, we hope that this will inspire increased participation in the primaries, which are being held nationwide in over 20 states, including New York. It is essential that we as young Americans assert our political voice, especially in this most crucial election. The next president will be in office when most of the students on this campus have graduated and enter what has come to be known as the real world. The next president will be responsible for repairing the damage that the current one has caused. And the next president will be responsible for the type of environment we live our adult lives in.
The second thing we are hoping to achieve is to inspire a new political interest, in this election in particular, on Stony Brook’s campus. While we hope that you join us in supporting our candidates for office, we would rather have students research all the candidates on their own and come to their own conclusions based on the facts.
And lastly, we are hoping that our voiced support makes an actual difference in the election itself. The Republican primary is a winner-take-all election, where the winning candidate receives all delegates. But the Democratic election is proportional; depending on how well a candidate does in congressional districts dictates the allocation of delegates. Stony Brook University is home to thousands of potential voters, and it is more than feasible the turnout here can make a huge difference to one candidate or another.
Our decisions were made after carefully examining the positions each candidate has taken on key issues of this election. It must be noted that, while the paper is making these endorsements, not all of our editors fully agree with our decisions.
It is with great pleasure and excitement that I announce the Statesman’s official endorsement of Illinois Senator Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination and Arizona Senator John McCain for the Republican presidential nomination.
-Adam Peck
Statesman Editor-in-Chief
