The line between a joke and a serious statement is so blurred that sometimes the slightest hiccup can cause cold facts to give headaches when least expected. Nothing compares to the common cold of politics and the very same headaches that can accompany it.
Al Gore's endorsement of Howard Dean equaled a certain Joe Lieberman migraine.Howard Dean's downfall probably affected Gore the same way. Truman's sudden squeak finish in his famous election with Dewey created a mass epidemic of Republican flu.And Newt Gingrich ... he nearly killed me in 1994.
Of course, these figures will one day be replaced by students who are trying to cause illnesses of their own. The SC elections create more pounding cerebellums than Carrot Top, and rightfully so.Already, two banners from the Polson-Trombley Campaign have been torched.You can feel the bitterness in the air coming from each candidate, directed at each candidate.
Then there's the Mount campaign.
The easiest way to describe this bunch is the neighborhood's friendly bull dog.Always looking to defend you and him, Spike makes sure that none of the bigger dogs squashes anyone.He isn't the biggest.He sometimes overreacts.But this guy is nitty-gritty, ready to do battle with anyone that messes with students. And despite his size, he scares the bejesus out of the opposition.
The campaign looks ready to go to a Phish concert. Will's hairy moustache is pretty hilarious, and he often comes off as the goofiest guy in the room.Campaign Manager Daniel Cohen is silly looking, with duck pajama pants and a trusty Remington brimmed cap.John Berman and Adam Polonomous really are as goofy as they claim to be on the staff page of www.mount2004.com.
What is so intriguing is that this ragtag bunch has put together a candidacy with a legitimate shot. They've shot straight the entire time.Their goal of knocking on every door has succeeded in creating a campus buzz that is practically unmatched. Will's intensely detailed student recreation center plan is a winner.I have seen their policy pages, and it must be understood that Will Mount has plans that have put other campaigns deep in the hole.
With a legitimate shot at many of the larger endorsements on campus and base support on north side, south side and in Park Bethesda, Team Mount has put themselves on the map in the most distinct way possible. Instead of being known for charisma, youth or popularity, this candidate has reached a level of solid on-campus name recognition simply by being Will Mount.
The question mark to overcome for this campaign is not whether or not Will can neutralize his enemies, but whether or not they maliciously badmouth him behind the scenes to such a point that campus does not bother to listen to ideas.
It is a well-known fact that Will was impeached by the General Assembly.This fact and other specific moments in history have cloaked the career of a true defender of students in the bitter opinions of his jealous enemies.Did anyone bother to consider that Will would never have been removed from office in the first place if wannabe speakers had shown some guts instead of abandoning him?
Julia Mendelson is a freshman in the School of Public Affairs.
