Prolific Pennsylvania

Donkeys are running wild in our great Commonwealth, and rightfully so.

The Pennsylvania Primary was this Tuesday the 22nd, and it was make or break time for the candidate’s. Both have fought hard all the way from the Iowa caucuses to all across the country.

Pennsylvania is the sixth largest democratic delegate holding state with 179, only surpassed by Schwarzenegger’s Cah-li-for-ni-yah with 439, Clinton’s New York with 287, The Lone Star State (Texas) with 232, Florida with 210, and Obama’s Illinois with 187. With all of these states results already taken care of, Pa stands alone. Click here for previous elections and results.

Pennsylvania is the largest state (delegates wise) left to have their primary, and both candidates are doing whatever it takes to get those 179 delegate votes. The next largest state in line is North Carolina with 108 delegates on May 6th.

The last 10 primaries/caucuses have seemingly been dominated by Obama winning seven out of the last ten, yet he has only won two out of the last five. These last eight states are up for grabs and whoever can pluck the primary peach tree in Pennsylvania could possibly run away with the nomination.

There are 816 Democratic delegate votes up for grabs in the last eight states, and this years Pennsylvania primary is prolific. With these high stakes, are college students seizing the day and making their vote matter? Or are they staying true to form and remaining apathetic?
The price of gas is a hot topic in this upcoming election, and it may in fact affect the primaries. Amanda Bowers, [www.wcupa.edu/ West Chester University] senior and registered democrat in Pennsylvania is realizing the seriousness of gas prices. Bowers claims, “Gas is a factor! To be honest I can not afford to drive home that much even though it’s not that far.” In this election, it may be possible for candidates to be missing out on votes because students can’t afford to drive home to their polling stations.

While others attempt to go the extra mile to go home and vote like Amanda, others still hold true to the apathetic student voter and remain unregistered such as Andy Knerr, Lehigh University junior believe, “ It is only one vote … My vote will not change the results of the primary.” Some things will never change…

But not all students think their vote does not matter. Michael Johnston, West Chester University senior has voted in every election since he was 18 and votes because he likes to, “ Assume I have a say. Regardless, I would like to think the “dems” are gonna take it in the end. It’s time for a little bit of a change…a BIG change.”

UC Junior Nicole Christian feels Mike’s need for a change. She voted on primary day for many reasons, one being, “ I am not a Bush supporter and I’m tired of republicans like him being in office giving tax breaks to the rich and sending our troops to die in a pointless war just so we can flex our ever decreasing muscles of power.”

According to AOLNews.com both candidate’s need 2025 to win the nomination and the current standings put both Obama and Clinton 139 votes apart with Obama leading with 1643 votes collected. There are 563 Democratic delegate votes up for grabs in the last eight states.
For example the highly popular Colbert Report made its first remote location shoot to the University of Pennsylvania campus on 37th and Walnut and shot there during the week of April 14th.

Stephen Colbert brought special guests in the show such as Governor Ed Rendell, Mayor Michael Nutter, first lady hopeful Michelle Obama, and even the infamous Ben Franklin impersonator. Governor Rendell has already publicly endorsed Clinton, and did so on The Colbert Report.
The remaining eight states in order are: Pennsylvania on April 22nd, Indiana and North Carolina on May 6th, West Virginia on May 13th, Kentucky and Oregon on May 20th, and finally Montana and the home of Mount Rushmore, South Dakota on June 3rd. It may be too late to vote in Pennsylvania, but there is always the presidential election in November. If one has questions about registering, or other new voter questions, click here for a PDA put out by the Department of State of Pennsylvania.

The remaining eight states in order are: Pennsylvania on April 22nd, Indiana and North Carolina on May 6th, West Virginia on May 13th, Kentucky and Oregon on May 20th, and finally Montana and the home of Mount Rushmore, South Dakota on June 3rd. It may be too late to vote in Pennsylvania, but there is always the presidential election in November. If one has questions about how they can register, or other new voter questions, click here for a PDA put out by the Department of State of Pennsylvania.

For full results of the Pa Primary, click here and get informed.

Pennsylvania for Obama- Caroline Kennedy at Ursinus

Will her visits help Barack Obama’s chances of gaining the Democratic nomination?

On January 27, 2008 with an opinion piece in the New York Times entitled “A President Like My Father,” Caroline Kennedy, daughter of former President and the late John F. Kennedy, proudly exposed her support of presidential candidate Barack Obama to the world. Click here for more on Caroline Kennedy.

Kennedy, who hasn’t openly endorsed a presidential candidate since her uncle Senator Edward Kennedy ran for office in 1980, strongly believes that Sen. Obama is the right man for the job. In the New York Times article she wrote; “Senator Obama is running a dignified and honest campaign… [He] made the right call on the most important issue of our time by opposing the war in Iraq from the beginning” (nytimes.com). Her passion for Sen. Obama and his campaign has led this famous daughter to travel across state lines vocalizing her support of Obama, especially among college students.

Recently, with the overwhelming importance of a particular date and a particular state’s impact on the Presidential campaign, Caroline Kennedy has made her way to the lovely state of Pennsylvania. She has made stops along the way at different places around the area, and most important to us, she made a stop in Collegeville, Pa at Ursinus College.

On April 11, 2008, students, professors, and local residents filed into Bomberger Auditorium, eagerly awaiting the arrival of this esteemed figure. As audience members greeted each other, many with pen and paper in hand, and a few with video cameras, the stage remained empty except for a podium, a cushioned chair, and three posters with Sen. Obama’s face and the heading “Hope” hanging in the background. Finally, a member of the Ursinus College Democrats ran in the room and “whispered” to her friend in the front row, “She’s here!” Each member in the audience shifted in his or her sears and sat silently and eloquently.

Before Caroline Kennedy came out however, Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (Democrat- Connecticut) took to the stage. She too, believes strongly in Obama’s message, and feels that he is the right person to lead our country at such trying times; “With [him] we can renew the idealism that made America special in the world.” Congresswoman DeLauro also made it clear that we, the young voters of Pennsylvania, will have a major impact in the primaries, perhaps ultimately deciding who the Democratic nominee will be.

Once Congresswoman DeLauro’s speech ended, Caroline Kennedy walked into the room, greeted with a standing ovation. Wearing a blue suit, accented with a blue and white scarf, Caroline Kennedy stepped up to the podium, thanking the audience for their support. She then went on to explain why she chose to endorse Obama and why she feels that he is the right man to lead our nation, and our future. In all of her years involved in politics, she has never found a candidate that inspired the country in such a way that her father did; never such a candidate that believed in America’s youth as much as her father did. Never, until now.

Kennedy then went on to explain her work over the past five years in the New York public school system. She feels that adolescents, more than ever, are ready to blaze their own trails. With this statement, she urged the young voters to go out and vote in the April 22 primaries. Every vote counts, she said. With her final push to urge young voters to vote, and vote for Obama, Caroline Kennedy ended her speech, and walked off of the stage.

Click here for information on the Pennsylvania Primaries.

After the forum, I interviewed a couple of my peers in order to get their reactions. Senior and supporter of Caroline Kennedy and every member of her family, Stephanie Kaysen appreciated her remarks, but she didn’t think she was much of a speaker; “She’s a great woman and very intelligent. But she isn’t the motivational type at all. She was very quiet and reserved. But that doesn’t mean she wasn’t heard.” Others seemed to mimic Kaysen’s opinion. They believe that Congresswoman DeLauro was much more of an entertaining and energetic speaker. Sophomore Elizabeth Cannon thinks that Kennedy’s presentation was not an issue; “I think that even though she was very meek, everyone in attendance listened to every word that came out of her mouth, simply because she is a Kennedy.”

Whoever wins the Democratic nomination is yet to be seen, but Kennedy’s impact on the campaign trail is obvious, especially among college voters.

Oh, Sweet Caroline!