President Bush's rationale for the war in Iraq is "a criminal disservice to the soldiers and a criminal deception of the American people," said former Clinton advisor and CNN political commentator Paul Begala in the McDowell Hall Formal Lounge Thursday night.
In the speech organized by the College Democrats, Begala discussed his vision for the Democratic Party, saying the Bush administration has fought the war on terror as if it were fighting a single country.
The Democratic Party's recent losses are "not because we're too liberal, but because we're too weak," Begala said.
Begala also talked about Sen. Hillary Clinton's possible presidential run in 2008.
"I hope Hillary will run," he said. "People always ask me if she can win...well, I don't know if she will, but I know she can."
Begala also spoke about the importance of separating the personal from the political.
Using an anecdote about his friends, the famously mismatched political couple James Carville and Mary Matalin, Begala explained that a fulfilling relationship can be formed outside of politics.
"James and Mary bicker, but they make it work," he said.
Begala repeatedly referred to prominent Republicans such as Deputy White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove and Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell, as "good friends" and "worthy of respect."
Criticizing the 2004 presidential campaign of Sen. John Kerry, Begala said "the first rule of political campaigning is always attack, never defend, and if John Kerry had known that, he'd have just made his second appointment to the Supreme Court."
"I agree with Begala 100 percent," said Joe Burge, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. "He definitely convinced me that for the Democrats to be on the offense is the preferable strategy. He made a very good case against the platform of no negative campaigning."
In response to Begala's comment about the war in Iraq, Elizabeth Janeczko, a junior in the School of Public Affairs, said she doesn't think President Bush would willingly put U.S. troops in danger without having good reason to do so.
"I do not believe our troops were sent overseas for ignoble reasons, nor do I think that our troops are being disrespected by anyone except those who deem it acceptable to prolong the silly argument that President Bush and our government do not care about our troops of the American people," she said.
Ashley Mushnick, president of the College Democrats, said she felt the College Democrats "pulled off a spectacular event."
"This is the first year that the College Democrats have had a budget matching the College Republicans and for the past couple of years we have always wanted to bring speakers the way the Republicans have," she said. "Now we have the resources and the student base to pull off a successful event"
