Political pundits talk shop at GSU

‘ WBZ radio host Dan Rea incites anger, harsh words and a lot of talk, but through it all, he said he hopes to incite original opinions.’
Rea, a Boston University School of Law alumnus, hosted the fifth and final installment of the ‘Talk the Vote’ series at the George Sherman Union Wednesday, drawing more than 30 people.
Talk the Vote aims to get students thinking about the election because it will affect them the most in the long run, Rea said after the panel discussion.
‘Our motto is, ‘I don’t care what you’re thinking about, as long as you’re thinking,” Rea said.
The panel discussed various topics concerning the upcoming election including health care, the economy and the media coverage of the campaigns.
In addition to the candidates’ portrayal in the United States, the panel discussed international opinions of the election. The conversation became heated when Democratic strategist Mary Anne Marsh said the United States would be going against the global pattern of conservative leaders by electing Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.’
‘Since when do we follow the rest of the world?’ Marsh said. ‘We lead.’
Republican strategist Charlie Manning gave a spirited defense of both GOP nominee John McCain and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, saying she was a better choice for the post than Democratic vice presidential pick Joe Biden.
‘I am one of like seven Republicans at BU, so I kind of stand out here,’ College of Arts and Sciences freshman Kate Cordial said. ‘I really like that we can ask actual experts questions and that there’s one-on-one interaction, which is not what you get from watching the news.’
In terms of media coverage, Rea raised the question, ‘Is the media basically ‘in bed,’ as some conservatives have said, for Obama?’
While Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore said it depends on ‘what you’re listening to,’ College of Communication Dean Tom Fiedler disagreed.
‘The news media has been in love with the story of Barack Obama,’ Fiedler said. ‘He has a fantastic American story, and he is the first major African-American candidate who has not run as a victim of the system.’
The show was interactive and allowed audience members and callers to comment and ask questions. While the panel showed a wide range of opinions, the main message seemed to be that students should become opinionated on political matters, CAS sophomore Krystina Mainor said.’
‘The message I got from this is that it is really important to go out and vote,’ she said. ‘Everybody should get their word in, so we really get the candidate that the people want.’