On your marks! Get set! Go! Even though the presidential race is not determined by the speed of the racers, the 2008 presidential election candidates have their pedals to the metal. This election will race all over the country and end at the Capitol, but the distance isn’t stopping students at Dillard University from watching very closely. Dillard University is primarily an all black institution, a hot spot for democratic candidate Barack Obama. According to a survey presented to 100 students on campus, 62 students said they would vote for Hillary Clinton instead of Obama in the upcoming election. “I’m not completely sure who I want to vote for, but from what I have seen so far, Hillary Clinton has my vote,” says Christopher Stewart, a senior political science major from Texas. “I know [many black] people already have their minds made up to vote for Obama, but Hillary has a lot to bring to the table and I feel she is very serious about pulling the troops out of Iraq.” Even though Stewart’s mind is not completely made up, his gut feeling is similar with what the general public feels. Pollreporting.com, a website dedicated to the collection of polls about the potential candidates for the US presidential election, has reported an estimated 43 percent of democrats will vote for Hillary Clinton, 24 percent of democrats will vote for Barack Obama, and 10 percent will vote for Al Gore or John Edwards. Hillary Clinton’s overwhelming popularity is not too farfetched. She brings to the table 14 years of experience in the United States’ top political offices as well as a guider who can show her the ropes- two-term, former President, Bill Clinton. Her main political goals are to strengthen the middleclass, provide affordable and accessible healthcare, end the war in Iraq, and fight against energy dependence and global warming. She vows to achieve these goals and with that Americans will see the cost of energy decline, the minimum wage will increase, quality in healthcare should expand to the low income and the cost of college should decrease. Sharing related political views, democratic nominee, Barack Obama promises to tackle issues such as poverty, war, corruption and immigration. Even though Obama does not have as much political experience that Hillary has, he has served eight years as State Senate in Illinois. He is also the third African American since reconstruction to be elected to U.S. Senate, a big accomplishment that seemed impossible from a boy growing up in a small town in west Hawaii. His focus primarily deals with improving the public school system, implementing a successful universal health care system, strengthening the United States relationship with other countries and ending the war in Iraq. “I’m voting for Barack Obama because he is African American, and he can do a lot for [other African Americans] my people,” says Monique McGhee, a freshman business major. “His issues touch my community closer then Hillary’s, and plus we finally need to have a black president.” On the republican’s side of the race, Rudy Giuliani trails his competition with 32 percent of republicans’ vote; Fred Thompson holds 20 percent of the supporters and John McCain settling in at 3rd with only 16 percent of republicans supporting him. Rudy Giuliani, former mayor of New York City during the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center, was crowned person of the year by time magazine for his efforts in the recovery of New York City during 9/11. He also cut overall crime down by 56 percent and murders by 66 percent, making New York City on of the safest major cities to live in. He vows to cut back on taxes, winning the war on terrorism, ensure pubic safety, and set reasonable restrictions on abortions. Giuliani does not support gay marriage, feeling that it is a bond between a man and a woman, but does believe in equal rights and supports laws recognizing domestic partnership. Another major figure in the republican race is Fred Thompson, a former chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. He is committed to fighting against terrorism, expanding our military, cutting wasteful government spending; securing our countries borders and vows to reduce our countries demand for oil.

The survey of Dillard’s campus found that no student who participated in the survey is a republican or is even voting for a republican nominee. 98 percent of the people surveyed were democrats while two percent were undecided. While it is too early to predict the outcome of the race, Dillard University students have their best vote for their future locked and are hoping for the best.