This is certainly going to be a very interesting and intense race for President. There are many people who are willing enough to run and all are certainly qualified, some more than others. With the state our country is in after so many disasters, there are many issues that should be at the front of the campaign. They include border patrol, the war in Iraq, and health care. All topics are very important to the well being of our country.
Border patrol definitely needs to be more enforced. As Californians, we see everyday how week it is, there are so many illegal immigrants in our country looking for a better way of life. Some of them eventually find it and then take the proper steps to become a full citizen. However some do not find it and end up living in poverty. In return, they have children in the States who are then legal citizens and the poverty in America goes up. That is something that certainly no one wants. Our candidates must find the “origins of the problem, Mexico’s population growth, the burden on US social services and public assistance, the effect on the labor market, border violence and drug traffic.” (James 2)
The war in Iraq is also a very important issue. Our troops have been over there for quite some time and for the average American, there doesn't seem to be much of an end in sight. However there is constantly work going on for this cause.
“U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appeared on Egyptian television. The interviewer, Mervat Mohsen, summed up the changes in Iraq from a Sunni perspective. ‘Excessive meddling has brought the Shiites in Iraq to power. The neighboring Iranians are Shia. The Sunnis are compromised. America’s trusted Arab allies are Sunnis. There is a civil war brewing in Iraq. What have you done?’ Rice insisted Iraq’s political process was fully on track. ‘Well I don’t think there is a civil war brewing in Iraq…Now that the dictator is gone, you have the Iraqi people, who come from may different sects, from many different ethnic groups, trying to use a political process of compromise and politics, to replace repression’” (Galbraith 4).
Finally, there is the issue of health care. This needs to be addressed because every American wants to know what kind of medical care will be provided for them when they need it most. In some countries, the policy for health care is that it is completely free. There are of course good and bad qualities to this. It could have a negative affect because if you are getting payed a certain amount as a doctor, your pay is not set according to how many people you get and therefore how good you are as a doctor. If this is the case, it will be hard to be motivated to do a good job when the mean, lazy doctor next door is getting payed as much as you are when you try your hardest to be perfect and kind. It would also have a positive effect, tho. Many people in America die because they cannot afford health care. For me, when i go to college next year, my parent's insurance will not be able to cover my health care. Luckily, I have a job at Starbucks where, if i work enough hours to be considered a part-time employee, I can get insurance through them. However that means that i will not have enough time to do the two extra-curricular activities(and therefore scholarships) that i hold most dear, choir and cheer leading. Having free health care would be great because then i would not have to work part time.
There are many important issues in this election. Many of them might be more important in the long run or simply to a select group of people. However to me, the three most important issues are border patrol, the war in Iraq, and health care. In the 2008 election, I hope a person is selected that will certainly help our country out in all these areas of need.
Sources
Galbraith, Peter W. “The End of Iraq: How American Incompetence Created a War Without End.” New York: Simon & Schuster Inc., 2006
James, Daniel. Illegal Immigration: An Unfolding Crisis. Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America, 2006.
