4A - Monday, November 5, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com 4A - Monday, November 5, 2012 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890. 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tothedaily@michigandaily.com TIMOTHY RABB JOSEPH LICHTERMAN and ADRIENNE ROBERTS ANDREW WEINER EDITOR IN CHIEF EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS MANAGING EDITOR Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily's editorial board. All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors. Re-elect President Obama Despite disappointments, he deserves a second term "You can't measure change in speeches. You measure change in achievements:" -Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney speaking at a campaign rally in Iowa on Sunday. Vanity (un)Fair 4 A In 2008 The Michigan Daily endorsed then-Sen. Barack Obama for president of the United States. His platform was inspiring - his rhetoric, extraordinary. Young people here at the University, of Michigan and across the country participated in the campaign and election at historic levels. Many volunteered for Obama's effort with hopes of "change" - a scope that excitingly included addressing cli- mate change, civil rights, immigration and health care overhaul. Four years later, much of the rhetoric hasn't reflected policy or sweeping change. Politi- cians, presidents included, can only change the country so much - Obama has faced a historic recession, a deadlocked Congress and an ever- changing world. Obama, however, has done a remarkable job considering the gridlock and barriers he has faced thus far. Obama has most clearly excelled in the realm of foreign policy.While he hasn't been the pro- gressive social activist many expected and con- servatives still fear, he has lived up to many of his foreign policy initiatives. From successfully locating and killing Osama bin Laden to wind- ing down wars the in Iraq and Afghanistan, he has taken significant strides toward ending our nation's longest and most expensive foreign entanglements. Obama also successfully signed an arms control treaty with Russia, presenting a united front against Iran's nuclear program, which marked an important milestone for nuclear disarmament, despite Iran's agenda. Obama also promotes a variety of sound social policies. The politically convenient man- ner in which Obama endorsed same-sex mar- riage doesn't change the fact that he is the first sitting president to do so. Obama extended ben- efits to same-sex domestic partners of federal employees, granting the same rights that all employees and their families enjoy. He has also appointed the greatest number of openly gay officials in U.S. history. He also signed off on the end to the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy so those serving our country can do so with full integrity. Though Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is using the current state of the economy as a selling point for his cam- paign, Obama has handled the economy quite remarkably. With the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 - a $787-billion stimulus package - Obama created between 1.4 million and 3.3 million jobs. He also estab- lished the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, among other consumer protections in the wake of Wall Street's collapse as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Con- sumer Protection Act. Students, especially those in college, have also benefitted greatly from Obama's policies in spite of the economic downturn. In May, Congress successfully kept the student loan interest rate subsidy at 3.4 percent with the president's support. Perhaps Obama's biggest achievement is the Affordable Care Act, a milestone that was decades in the making. By 2022, 33 million pre- viously uninsured Americans will have health coverage, according to the Congressional Bud- get Office. Children can also now stay on their parents' plans until age 26,, and the act makes sure those with pre-existing conditions can't be denied health coverage. It most likely won't come as a surprise that The Michigan Daily endorses Obama for presi- dent - his administration has been successful against great odds. Romney, on the other hand, has cam- paigned on a constantly shifting platform. His policies and past beliefs have ranged from Tea Party conservatism to almost liberal progres- sivism - his Massachusetts health care policy became the model for Obama's health care reforms. His lack of consistency begs the ques- tion: which incarnation would a President Romney govern as? Romney also seems to be out of touch with certain issues, particularly those affecting stu- dents. During a visit to Otterbein University on April 27, Romney said to students, "Take a risk. Get the education. Borrow money, if you have to, from your parents." This cavalier attitude isn't the right way to pursue higher education policy, and this may be indicative of Romney's ignorance of the financial state of many Ameri- can families. However, our endorsement of Obama can't be as enthusiastic as it was four years ago. Obama's progressive rhetoric hardly matches his centrist policies. While it's important for Obama to work across the aisle, he should also be more assertive in his beliefs - a president has to play politics, too. Obama has the ability to lead this nation through the challenging and confusing era we're in - and with another four years we believe he can do so. Romney's platform repre- sents backward social policy and dispassionate economic policies. Students across the country campaigned for Obama in 2008 for a good reason. He's pragmatic and has done his best to help struggling students. A president must lead the country - through words and actions - into a future that improves the quality of life for Americans and for the rest of the world. Vote for President Barack Obama to keep us on this path. " 0 h em gee. Can you believe they both showed up last night wearing match- ing dresses, in the same exact color? I mean, come on, that's totally embar- rassing, right? I would've been utterly morti- fied. Though SARAH it's really not a SKALUBA secret that Ann looked fiercer in that fuchsia dress, just look at those giant blue baubles she flaunted! Such a statement piece - turned heads and blew away the competi- tion! Her rival never stood a chance, poor thing." Just another casual convo over- heard in the depths of your neigh- borhood sorority house, or the political gossip following the second presidential debate? Unfortunately for us, it's the latter. Welcome to the realm of today's American politics, ladies and gentlemen. Where policy and platform should be front and center, somehow the media man- ages to spew completely irrelevant, almost laughable stories about first lady Michelle Obama and Republi- can presidential nominee Mitt Rom- ney's wife, Ann. The first lady of the United States - "FLOTUS" - has frequently been dubbed a style icon by fashion maga- zines and news sources. Harper's Bazaar even coined the nickname "First Lady of Fashion," noting Obama is "well on her way to leav- ing a stylish legacy on par with those other White House arbiters, Jacque- line Kennedy and Nancy Reagan." And who's to say Michelle doesn't rival the famed Jackie O with her immense poise, style and grace? It's a feat in itself to be named one of Forbes' "Most Fashionable Power Women of 2012." But where do we draw the line between "acclaimed style icon who just so happens to play a powerful role in American politics and diplomacy" and the "fashionista" who has little more to bring to the table than elegance and immaculate style? You won't find The New York Times or The Washington Post spending too much time analyz- ing the choice of tie color President Obama or Mitt Romney sported at the last presidential debate. Nor do we read about their personal styles and choice of dress - though Mitt Romney's flawless locks may be a fair exception. We're frequently bombarded, however, with a plethora of blogs, articles and photos analyzing every- thing from the first lady's choice of nail color to the exact cut and fit of her designer dress. It's time soci- ety views women first as influential leaders, not fashion statements. Let's take a moment to compare the fierceness of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with the demean- ing gossip surrounding Michelle Obama and Ann Romney. When Clinton was interviewed in 2010 by the American University of Central Asia, the moderator had the naivet6 to ask her "What designers do you prefer?" and without skipping a beat she replied, "Would you ever ask a man that question?" Of course not. The answer is unsurprisingly "no." Our society couldn't care less about which designer dressed Obama or 'what color tie Romney rocked during the last presidential debate. But the media attacks each woman with a ferocity that makes me think they've confused New York Fashion, Week with the 2012 U.S. presiden- tial election. As Hillary fights to gain the respect and admiration of those around her, the first lady and Ann Romney aren't fortunate enough to say the same. The Huffington Post is notorious for publishing articles aimed solely at the contrasting fash- ion choices and individual styles of these leadingladies. According to the ever trustworthy HuffPost, "As the presidential race heats up, the prospective first ladies continue to duke it out in the fash- ion department, one-upping each other on the campaign trail in eye- catching outfits and trend-setting nail art." Right, well I'm pretty sure the last time I saw anyone sport- ing "nail art" was in middle school, when bedazzled fingernails were all the rage. Women need to be respected for their skills and intelligence. In all seriousness though, we need to break down this double standard that plays such a large role in Ameri- can politics today. Women deserve to be respected for the skills and leadership they bring to the table, rather than their immaculate style and dress choice. Both Romney and Obama may have "obscenely perfect eyelashes and shiny hair," according to Vanity Fair, but they still deserve to be treated as intelligent and pol- icy-affecting women - not symbols of beauty and high fashion. It's just a shame we couldn't see the two of them in a head to head debate before our final votes are cast, because let's be honest, we'd rather see the first lady and Ann Romney debate live than read one more editorial bickering about "who wore it better." - Sarah Skaluba can be reached at sskaluba@umich.edu. EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS Kaan Avdan, Sharik Bashir, Eli Cahan, Nirbhay Jain, Jesse Klein, Melanie Kruvelis, Patrick Maillet, Harsha Nahata, Timothy Rabb, Adrienne Roberts, Vanessa Rychlinski, Sarah Skaluba, Michael Spaeth, Gus Turner Tips to take to the booth BEN LERNER I VIEWOIN Vote for cleaner air I'm a 20-year-old student at the University of Michigan who suffers from asthma. I'm one of more than 800,000 people in the state with this disease. Michigan also happens to be one of the most coal-dependent states in our nation - 60 percent of our electricity is generated from coal-fired power plants that fuel global warming, pollute our air with soot and smog and poison our water supply with mercury. Recent studies have shown that pol- lution due to coal is a leading source of asth- ma attacks. Clearly, it's not a coincidence that Michigan has such a high number of asthma patients. If we care at all about the public health of our state, we will end our addiction to this dirty source of energy. Proposal 3 does just that by requiring utilities comapnies to get 25 percent of Michigan's electricity from renew- able sources, like wind and solar by 2025. The Michigan Nurses Association even endorsed Proposal 3, calling it "the most important public health initiative in decades." The reality is DTE and Consumer's Energy have pooled more than $5 million to make sure that we stay reliant on dirty, sources of energy, airing television advertisements against the ballot initiative. Overcoming the influence of our coal-burning utilities is not going to be easy. By this point, I'm sure you've seen their misleading TV advertisements and mail- ings, stating that Proposal 3 will cost con- sumers millions. For those skeptical about who will be paying for all of these changes, rest assured, it won't be us. There's actually a clause in the proposal to protect consum- ers that caps an increase in electrical bills to 1 percent. A 1-percent increase is estimated to cost only and $1.25 per month. Furthermore, we can expect decreases in our electricity bills within the next five years. This has been proven in the 31 other states already reaping the benefits of similar pro- posals. I understand that some of us are for- tunate enough to not have to worry about our own electricity bills at this point in time, but within the next four years it's something that will affect all of us. As a Program in the Environment concen- trator at the University, I am obviously excit- ed to see Michigan detox from years of coal pollution. Knowing that my energy bills will be decreasing at the same time is simply an added bonus. Whetheryou are aflamingliberal, extreme- ly conservative or anywhere in between, this proposal is something we can all agree on. The truth is that renewable energy is no lon- ger the future. It is the present and we cannot be left behind. As college students, it's critical that we make it to the polls. But we can't just vote for our elected officials. We must also turn over the ballot and vote on nonpartisan issues like Proposal 3. I urge you to vote "Yes" on Pro- posal 3 because not only will it clean our air and water, but it will also save lives. Ben Lerner is an LSA junior. y editors here at the Daily encourage columnists to write about issues that are pertinent to the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor or college students in gen- eral. I do my best to abide by that rule of thumb as often as possible. DANIEL But in case CHARDELL you haven't heard, the elec- tion is tomor- row. Whatever you think of politics, the results of this election will have an impact on all of us and at all lev- els, from local to national. This will be the first presidential election in which most undergraduates are eli- gible to vote. So here's what I'll say. I won't try to sway your vote one way or the other - I assume you've made up your mind by now. But I do have some ideas, some tips that I want to offer up. Specifically, I ask of you just three things: 1. Educateyourself You wouldn't know it from main- stream news coverage, but there's much more to this election than the heated race for presidency. That's especially the case in Michigan, where voters will determine the out- comes of six state ballot proposals as well as races for the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives and the Michigan Supreme Court, among others. Don't let these less publicized - but no less important - elec- tions catch you off-guard. Before you walk into the voting booth on Tuesday, read up on the candidates, their positions and their values. The Michigan Daily has made endorse- ments, as has The Detroit Free Press and other Michigan news outlets. Check them out. An uneducated vote is worse than no vote at all. 2. Beprepared to live with the con- sequences ofyour selections. Though we might (justifiably) mock politicians for being out of touch, their decisions have impor- tant implications. They're empow- ered to address major tasks: setting budgets, declaring wars, levying taxes and investing in education. Elected leaders exercise power because voters give it to them. When casting your vote, ask which candi- date's views mirror your own. Your vote shouldn't necessarily define you, but it does reflect what kind of future you want to see. Will you be proud to have made this selection? Is your candidate "on the right side of history," as they say? 3. Don't lose track ofpolitics after the election is over. I get it. We're all excited the elec- tion has come to an end. No more debates, hollow promises or pander- ing. No more misleading campaign ads polluting the airwaves. No more obnoxious, albeit entertaining, can- A didates making a mockery of our democracy - I'm looking at you, Herman Cain. We've lived with daily reminders of this election for the past two years. Now the end is finally in sight. I think that's a good thing. Do your 4 a research, vote proudly and stay involved. However, this doesn't mean we should ignore politics or policy once the votes have been counted and the results are in. Quite the opposite. More than ever before, we must now focus on holding those we've elected accountable. Poor politics thrive on unaccountability. Given how polar- izing the 2012 election has been, I welcome its conclusion, but I'm fear- ful of the apathy that it has engen- dered. It shouldn't be too difficult to follow the president in the news, but do make a point of keeping tabs on your representatives in Congress and your elected local leaders. I'm as happy as you are that the election is almost over. But don't think of that as a free pass to aban- don the political process altogether. - Daniel Chardell can be reached at chardell@umich.edu.