Four years ago, President George W. Bush sought reelection on a platform of increased national security and expanding military presence overseas to combat terrorism. Voters concurred, and Bush won a second term.
Four years later, priorities have changed.
On Tuesday night, Barack Obama’s became the 44th president-elect in our nation’s history and the first minority candidate of a major party to win the Presidency. According to exit polls, it is clear that the nation’s current economic crisis was at the forefront of voters’ minds and very much influenced their decisions.
In fact, CNN reported that, in its exit polls conducted nationwide, 62 percent of voters asserted that the economy was their issue of main concern.
Similarly, Fairfield faculty and students felt that Obama’s sound economic understanding, as well as a specific plan for addressing the current financial crisis, differentiated him from Republican senator John McCain, whose policies would not stray far from Bush’s fiscal policies.
‘The economic situation and the reaction of the candidates to it had a great deal to do with how people voted,’ finance professor Michael Tucker sad. ‘Obama appeared more in control at that point and was able to come up with a few creative proposals. He also relentlessly tied McCain to Bush’s economy and Bush’s war in Iraq.’
‘It was clear that the last eight years incubated this financial crisis,’ Tucker added.
While far from an automatic cure to America’s financial woes, Obama’s policies offer a deviation from the financial deregulation and weighty tax cuts.
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‘(Under) Obama, government will be taking a more active role but not overly intrusive in economic matters,’ Tucker said. ‘Obama is more of a moderate than McCain was painting him. Bush and his crowd were so radical in their thinking on government regulation, climate change, (and) energy policy that moderates looked liberal.’
Economists and financial experts alike feel that Obama, on the other hand, offers a path to a more concise, specified government regulation of business.
‘Regulation is needed but it must be measured,’ Tucker said. ‘Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy will be eliminated and inheritance taxes will continue in order to avoid creating a society of inherited wealthy elite. Fiscal spending by government (infrastructure, etc.) opposed by McCain will move forward with Obama.’
Despite their current status as undergraduates, our country’s current financial situation was not lost on the minds of Fairfield students, as evident in the overwhelming turnout for Barack Obama not only in last week’s mock election, but also in FUSA’s screening of presidential election coverage.
Furthermore, Obama’s election reveals American’s apparent desire for change in the role of government.
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‘Obama’s victory shows that the people get it,’ Tucker said. ‘The failed policies of the last 8 years have been rejected. Change will be painful and expensive but there is no choice.’
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