President Barack Obama has Bruce Springsteen. Who does Mitt Romney have? Kid Rock? Actually, yes. Romney’s theme song for his campaign is “Born Free” by Kid Rock. Bold strategy – let’s see if it pays off.
If presidential elections were solely based off of which entertainers supported the respective candidates, I think we would have a clear cut favorite, except for maybe in Kid Rock’s home state of Michigan and wherever else people still blast the song “Bawitdaba.”
However, electing the president is not that easy. As voters, we have to take a candidate’s background into account, decide if they are qualified and also look at the policies they will implement if elected to office.
In this election, I felt the policies regarding financial aid for students were the most important. This is because I am currently a student trying to make my way through this university with as little debt as possible so that I can actually pay off my student loans in a reasonable amount of time.
Obama’s policies call for an increase in Pell Grant and scholarship funding, both of which take a big financial burden off of the shoulders of parents and students struggling to pay increasing college tuition bills. On the other hand, Romney suggests that students ask their parents for a loan.
Now, I understand it is respectable to pay for your own college tuition and eventually work off loans once you enter the “real world,” but are thousands of dollars in student loan debt also respectable? No. I think the word that best describes student loan debt is “unfortunate” or maybe even the scholarly term “bogus.”
We live in a different era than the era in which our parents grew up, and college is not nearly as affordable as it once was. Because I will be going to school for at least two more years – maybe more, I think that Obama will give me the best chance to get back on my feet financially after graduating from college. Not to mention the fact that the unemployment rate is steadily declining, which means that I will have a better chance of getting a job out of college. This will aid in paying off the smaller amount of loans I hopefully will have, thanks to extra money from grants and scholarships.
Obama’s policies stress the importance of higher education. They have been formulated to give most people who want a college education a chance to attain one. As we look to cement our position as the world’s hub for groundbreaking ideas and products, education will play a key role in promoting higher levels of thinking and innovation, which ultimately will translate into technological and economic success. The United States has already emerged as an innovative leader in industry, and I believe one way to keep our country at the head of the class is to encourage higher education by making tuition more affordable.
Whether you were “Born to Run,” like Bruce, or “Born Free,” like Kid Rock, as a college student, it makes the most sense to vote for Obama in this election. Let’s be real – we would much rather have Bruce Springsteen’s music represent our country.
