Editor's Box Spencer Musick [email protected] Editor-in-Chief

Hillary Rodham Clinton: a record of reform

As election season continues, let us examine the condition that our country is in.

As America nears the end of the disastrous presidency of George W. Bush, we are at 3943 American troop deaths and $470,728,656,198 into an endless occupation of Iraq, our economy is in shambles, our schools are failing and our country is no safer than it was before September 11, 2001.

The legacy of the Bush administration speaks for itself. Whoever the next president is, she or he will have a mountain of problems to deal with from day one.

Think back to the end of the presidency of George Bush senior. He also left a great number of problems for the next president to deal with. When Bill Clinton took office, he rolled up his sleeves and started cleaning up Bush's mess. As Clinton left office, our economy was strong, and the government was operating on a surplus. Clinton's quick action and determination saved America from economic ruin.America is in desperate need of a candidate to clean up after a Bush again. This time, it just happens to be Bush Jr. who made the messes.

Our choices in the November 2008 election are beginning to shape up. A razor thin margin between Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama on the Democratic side will make for a race that may not be resolved before the party's convention in June. On the Republican side, John McCain seems to be the inevitable nominee. While the GOP's conservative base may not consider McCain to be a true conservative, they will certainly opt for him if the alternative is Hillary Clinton or Barak Obama.

Hillary Rodham Clinton is qualified to be commander in chief in several unique ways. She has unparalleled experience in both public service and in the private sector, as well as leadership skills that have set her above her colleagues in the senate. For example, Clinton was named to the Senate Armed Services Committee during her second year in office. Clinton has the foreign policy and intelligence experience to lead this country in uncertain times. Unlike President Bush, Clinton will not allow her attention to be diverted from the war on terror while the man responsible for September 11, 2001, remains at large. Unlike her Democratic opponent who speaks in vague generalities, Clinton has been very specific about her positions on the issues, as well as the manner in which she will address the problems facing America.

Both she and her opponent speak about changing the failed polices of the Bush administration. However, the contrast between them is stark: while Obama has only two years of experience in the Senate, Clinton has a proven record that substantiates her promises to make change.

Clinton says it most articulately herself: "The challenges of change are always hard. It is important that we begin to unpack those challenges that confront this nation and realize that we each have a role that requires us to change and become more responsible for shaping our own future."