Choosing a New America: Human Rights and the Presidential Election,” which was hosted by the GW chapter of Amnesty International and was moderated by GW professor and CNN special correspondent Frank Sesno, focused on a wide variety of topics, including wiretapping, Guantanamo Bay, same-sex marriage, and the genocide in Darfur.
On some issues, the students representing both presidential candidates - Senators Barack Obama and John McCain – seemed to agree for the most part. For instance, both sides recognized their candidate’s desire to shut down Guantanamo Bay. Allison Wagner, who represented the Georgetown Students for McCain-Palin, said that Guantanamo is a “symbol of degradation of human life.”
On other issues, the two sides were in clear opposition of one another. On the subject of how to deal with the issue in Darfur, the students for McCain-Palin stated that their candidate believed in utilizing diplomacy before sending troops to Darfur, while Matt Ingolia, speaking for the GW Democrats, argued that “the solution will require more than just talk.” James Jones, also of the GW Democrats, went on to add that darfurscore.com, a reputable website that grades congressmen on their stance on Darfur, gave Obama an ‘A,’ and McCain a ‘C.’
The debate, which took place in the Continental Ballroom in the Marvin Center, fostered vibrant discussion between the two major political parties, thanks in part to Sesno, who made a habit of asking follow-up questions, and allowing the debaters to pose questions to one another – tactics that were not seen frequently in the presidential debates.
- Alex Laska
No comments:
Post a Comment