November 2008 is closer than it seems. After what feels like the longest eight years ever under Bush, America has an opportunity for change. There is only one problem.

The average student at Penn State probably knows little about politics.

As a figurative thinker I have recently deemed politics the spoken word for liars. Lies and meaningless arguments are bubble-wrapped by eloquent words.

Almost eight years ago all I knew about Clinton is what I was told. I was told that he was a good president but maybe not a good husband. My problem is one I believe many Penn State students can relate to. I do not know much about politics or about the presidential candidates. My feeling toward individuals in politics is a direct result of their actions.

Like many people in this country I feel trapped. I feel as though the popular vote elected a moron for president and if the popular vote can pick the wrong guy once, they will pick the wrong guy again. At this rate I will never agree with whom my country is governed by. The funny thing is that in my entire life, George W. Bush is the only president I have come to dislike.

I do not dislike our current president because he is white or because he is a Republican, but rather because he is responsible for a war that has done more harm than good. The death of Saddam Hussein seems to be just another casualty to Americans. What did his death really mean for us? More American troops were sent away, only to never return. More Iraqis died and their country still remains broken. Bush is like a contemporary international dictator despite the fact that on a local level (in America) his power and cabinet is a product of a democracy. I write this because he is forcing democracy on a nation that never asked for help.

Dwight D. Eisenhower said something that I can agree with:

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, from those who are cold and are not clothed. The world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children."

America should reorder its priorities. What is next? Will we invade every country that is a potential threat to us when are a threat to them all? Why does our government put our nation on such a high pedestal? Granted I know we have more liberty and opportunities here than most people in the world have, but even Americans are not completely free. We can't even marry who we want in every state without governmental restrictions.

I feel as though we have a social responsibility to watch the news and connect with people around the world. We should work with the Red Cross, and we should travel overseas and do community service.

Students care more about football than politics and international issues in most cases here at Penn State. But wait -- suddenly politics are becoming juicy with the possibility of the first black or woman president. And I agree this is better than the plot to The Departed -- but I am worried.

Next November is not the Grammy's or MTV's Video Music Awards -- it is the time when Americans take responsibility for the direction of the country. For this reason I really wish everything involving the Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton campaigns would stop being publicized and criticized like tabloid scandals. The fact that one is a man of color and one is a woman should be weighed long after their proposals for the future of America and what they wish to implement if given the presidential responsibility. Yes, it would be wonderful if little girls everywhere could grow up believing that they really could do anything with Hillary Clinton as their role model, if she were to become the first female president. Or if children of color could grow up believing that playing a sport is not their only option as a career. But let's not get caught up in the wrong things. I for one want the best person, no matter what they look like. Otherwise, as an advocate of the dissemination of prejudices, I would be a hypocrite to vote on the sole basis of Obama's skin color or Clinton's gender.

Superficial voting is as dangerous as driving drunk. Judgments are impaired. Individuals are liable to drive on the wrong side of the road when picking their ballots and feel as though America crashed into a tree of negative change should the person they voted for become president and govern in an unproductive manner. Just because you can relate to a presidential candidate does not mean that their ideas are yours. Students of color should not brainwash themselves into adopting all of Obama's doctrines as their own, and women should not feel as though Clinton is an infallible candidate because she is not a man.

I do believe that America is ready for a black or female president, but I will be sure to do my homework before I side with anyone. A lack of studying usually results in failure, does it not?