Presidential candidates George W. Bush and John Kerry have laid out their platforms, taken a stand on the issues, and will leave the choice of who will be America's next president up to voters on November 2.

Although the war in Iraq has dominated political discourse, education, the economy and the environment are three issues that also affect some SF State students.

The candidate’s positions have left something to be desired for political science major Emmet McDonagh, 22, who said he thought both candidates were wrong on most subjects, especially higher education.

President Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act emphasizes standardized testing to gauge the performance of high school students and increases federal funding for high performance schools, but Bush is less definitive on his plans for higher education.

His plan focuses on expanding federal financial aid for college students by $33 million for low-income high school students and providing initiatives for industries that create new jobs to work with community colleges and vocational training programs.

John Kerry touts a plan offering a college tax credit of up to $4,000 for every year a student is enrolled in college and skills training for unemployed workers.

Political science student Ryan Phillips is not impressed.

“Neither of them have any idea about [better] higher education,” said Phillips.
“Throw a crapload of money on it and proper management is what higher education needs. Start funding it. Start giving a crap.”

College students are facing a 5.4 percent unemployment rate and approximately 8 million unemployed people when they hit the job market. The candidates each addressed the issue of job creation at least four times during the three presidential debates.

Bush is optimistic that the economy will grow. Tax cuts are the centerpiece of his economic agenda, as they have been for the past four years.

The president will rely on education, job training, pro-business economic policies and tax relief to help ease the effects of U.S. companies outsourcing jobs to other countries.

To highlight his economic policy difference with President Bush, Kerry promises tax cuts for the middle class to spur economic growth and to close tax loopholes for corporations that outsource jobs.

Perhaps the biggest difference between the candidates positions on jobs is Kerry’s pledge to raise the minimum wage to $7.

One SF State student feels both candidates miss the mark where it counts.

“Job creation is a non-issue between Bush and Kerry,” said Chad Zicterman, an English and political science major.

Bush and Kerry have similar positions on the most important issues that affect Americans, world trade and the global economy, he said.

“Apparently they agree that job creation is best done by applying for a position with Halliburton [Corp.] or Bechtel [Corp.] and hoping you’ll catch a piece of the juicy contracts for rebuilding Iraq,” said Zichterman. “Meanwhile, tens of millions of people all across the country chase after smaller and smaller pools of financial aid and dead-end jobs.”

Other students are disappointed in what the candidates do not say. Environmental studies major Genie Burton is upset by the lack of emphasis on the environment.

“I think they’re [both] way off.” said Burton. “The fact that [Bush] doesn’t acknowledge there’s a problem bothers me big time, [and] John Kerry just touches on the issues trying to get people in the middle."

Although it was the least talked about issue during the three presidential debates according to post-debate anlysis by CNN, environmental policy is a point of contention between the candidates.

President Bush plans to continue federal deregulation of environmental standards, which would take some of the air quality oversight, forest preservation and electric company regulations out of government control.

“In this century, the greatest environmental progress will come about not through endless lawsuits or command-and-control regulations, but through technology and innovation,” said President Bush in his 2003 State of the Union address.

While Kerry has supported government regulation of environmental standards through his years in the Senate, he has not built a campaign platform around it.

He plans to fund the Environmental Protection Agency and supports the Kyoto Protocol, a global treaty that would have limited greenhouse gas emissions from several industrialized countries, including the United States, if President Bush had signed it.

No matter what the issue, the candidates have little time left to make their cases. Most polls show the two candidates in a dead heat with the election only one week away. With a record number of college students registered to vote, they will be taking their opinions and angst with them to the polls on Election Day.