Editor's Corner

What issue do you think is the most important in the upcoming election?

What’s the one issue I think is important in the upcoming election? Image. Well, let me clarify it isn’t the only issue I think is important to examine, but it’s an issue that bothers me. It bothers me that we as Americans vote on image and how a candidate is perceived instead of what they truly are representing.

If you take a look at all the ads and campaigns on political candidates, whether in this election or past ones, it’s apparent that image is high on the list of the public relations team of each candidate. Who is the better looking one? Which one is cooler? Which one wears nicer clothes? Questions like these about our candidates scare me. We should be voting on what their platform stands for. We should be voting on how that person will improve and stabilize our country, not how good they look on TV.

Linda Vasquez, Editor-in-cheif

I wish Michele Bachmann would be running against Obama in November instead of Mitt Romney. The reason: I want to pay only $2 for a gallon of gasoline, as was promised.

A little over a year ago Bachmann chose to rally Republicans against Obama by stating, “Under President Bachmann you will see gasoline come down below $2 a gallon again … That will happen.

Even though her statements probably made those Republican hearts beat fast with excitement and pump even redder blood, that’s like saying unemployment will forever end in our country once Romney is inaugurated.

If Bachmann possessed the power as the commander-in-chief to drop prices that low, why did the Republican president at the time of the 2008 gas crisis allow gas to reach an average price of $4.11 a gallon?
It’s true that nearly six days after President Obama was inaugurated into office, the price of one gallon of gas was $1.84. It’s also true that now we’re paying roughly $3.89 per gallon.

However, Americans should be well aware of the constantly changing gas prices that vary depending on a multitude of factors -- not solely whether an elephant or donkey is sitting behind the Oval Office desk. It also takes a lot more than a double-hyphened job title to make the guy at Loaf and Jug change the sign.

Jamie Jarmin, Features Editor

For several of us, including myself, it can be somewhat difficult to get into the election swing of things, especially with the overwhelming amount of media, news, and online coverage involving both candidates and their views for a ‘better’ America. Making an educated vote, therefore, may not be easy.

However, making an educated vote is critical for this election, as it should be with any other. That includes doing your research. I have read several Facebook statuses’ that attack Romney in favor for Obama’s vote. Aside from his emails favoring the Republican vote, my grandpa pulled me aside in August and told me how forever screwed my generation will be if Obama is re-elected another term.

Does this mean I should vote for Obama because of what people on Facebook are saying? Or even Romney because of what my grandpa told me? Not at all. Our decisions of who to vote for are often swayed from friends, family, or sources that don’t reveal both sides to the story. Rather, it is time to put a stronger emphasis on our own beliefs of the matter. Before you hit the polls, sit down and spend some time doing your research on both candidates this election and make a well-informed decision.

Jeff Bauer, Design Editor

You may have already guessed it, but I believe, without a doubt, that environmental protection and clean energy advancement together make the most important issue in this election. These issues have not received much attention at all, from either the media or the candidates themselves. Most of the attention thus far has been given over to the economy – how to fix it, how to create jobs, how to raise the nation out of debt. Though it is true that the economy may be our most urgent problem, any economic solution that does not include environmental considerations is eventually doomed to fail. Because without the environment and the resources it provides, no economy can possibly last. Everything we have comes from the earth, thus it needs to be protected from utter destruction. Furthermore, if our society does not become more sustainable, we will eventually run out of non-renewable resources. Without replacement energy sources in place, our economy will collapse when worldwide oil production ceases. Therefore, clean energy and environmental protection are the most pivotal – and underrated – issues in this presidential election.

Nathan Stottler, Opinion Editor