By TARA HETTINGER
Tara.Hettinger@newsandtribune.com
May 01, 2008 11:14 am
—
The College Democrats’ club at Indiana University Southeast decided that for too many undecided voters in the area, foreign policy is a big issue.
So, members wanted to show to those people that the candidate they back, Hillary Clinton, is the best choice.
To do that, club member Beau Zoeller said they contacted Clinton’s campaign and asked for someone to come and speak about foreign policy at IUS.
He wasn’t prepared for the answer he got, which was they were sending former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
“I was surprised, I mean, who better to speak about foreign policy than a former secretary of state,” he said.
On Wednesday, the auditorium in the Paul W. Ogle Cultural and Community Center was filled to the nearly 100-seat capacity. The audience consisted of mostly staff and community members. Most students were off campus, since the semester has already ended.
The 64th secretary of state talked to the group about what she said are the five main issues facing the next president: fighting terrorism without creating more terrorists, getting rid of nuclear powers, restoring the name of democracy, helping mitigate the negative effects of globalization and global warming and the energy crisis.
“The world is a mess,” Albright told the group. “I have spent my whole life studying foreign policy and I don’t think I’ve ever seen things in this kind of state.
“I think this is going to be a very difficult presidency.”
She said she endorses Clinton, because of her experience and ideas to solve those issues. She said Clinton’s time in the White House as the first lady gave her a chance to meet foreign leaders and introduce her to issues. Albright also cited accomplishments Clinton made as first lady of Arkansas and senator of New York.
As for ideas, she mostly talked about Clinton’s plan to pull troops out of Iraq. She said it will be tricky and will take the help of other countries, so that U.S. troops don’t get hurt in the process. Albright commended Clinton for not saying troops will be out by a certain date, because she said that’s impossible to know until you start pulling troops out.
One audience member asked Albright why Clinton is better than Barack Obama and John McCain.
“I have made a vow to not say anything negative about Obama,” she said. “I think we (Democrats) are very lucky to have two great candidates.”
As for McCain, she said the biggest difference is that he wants to keep the troops in Iraq for an extended amount of time.
When asked about criticism facing Clinton for staying in the race, Albright said the race isn’t over.
“The voters have to make the judgment,” she said. “The process has to go forward and the people haven’t finished speaking.”
During her speech, Albright said Indiana voters may have thought they were at a disadvantage, since the primary is later than other states, but she said this state is key.
“Indiana is going to make a huge difference,” she told the audience, who erupted into applause.
Audience members afterward said they were excited to see Albright in person.
“It was a thrill to see her,” Esther Brown, 65, said. “I thought she was brilliant. She has thought of all the ramifications of all the problems and has come up with solutions for them.”
Albright said she was happy to see the excitement in this race growing.
“What I’m so excited about in this camp is how many people are getting involved with it and how many new voters are coming forward,” Albright said.
That same thing was echoed by the audience.
“I like seeing people motivated and seeing people getting involved,” said Ken Schreiner, an IUS sophomore. “It’s nice seeing people take part in the democracy process.”
Corydon High School senior Eric Gozaba left school early to come to the event.
“How often do you get to see a former secretary of state? he said.
As for missing his topics in history class, he said that’s OK.
“My teacher’s OK with it,” Gozaba said. “He even promised me an A if I bring him back an autograph.”
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