Levi Bulgar had a goal: bipartisanship.

Bulgar, student executive vice president organized Monday’s presidential mock debate in which representatives from the College Democrats and College Republicans debated pre-written questions about their party’s principles and candidates in hopes of informing Eastern students before today’s primary elections.

Both sides called out for a change in leadership during several anti-George Bush questions from the crowd of nearly 200 students.

Sen. Barrack Obama and Sen. John McCain were the two predominant candidates who were referenced or asked about during the debate.

“If anyone says he (Obama) has a lack of experience I answer with he has a lack of time spent in Washington to fall into a corrupt system,” said Ryan Kerch, representative for the College Democrats.

McCain’s military experience and time as a prisoner of war were referenced by College Republican Michael Stopka as a benefit for proper Iraq war planning.

Stopka said democrats have no experience in war.

However, the College Democrats often referred to the Iraq war during financial questions and the government’s inability to erase national debt.

“Lets stop answering questions with the war in Iraq,” said Michelle Murphy, representative for the College Republicans. “The fact of the matter is that we’re there. Yes, we’ve put a lot of money into the war, but if we leave we will have put all that money down the drain. Let’s focus on winning the war and making something out of that money.”

Murphy said the College Democrats focused too much on Obama and that bylaws prevent either group from promoting a single candidate until after the primary.

Kerch said the audience questions were more geared toward Obama and that his group was candidate neutral during the pre-written questions. He countered her accusation by claiming an over use of McCain during answers

“I did not foresee us being as McCain oriented, but the war questions put him out there as the only one with military experience,” Murphy said.

On the home front, each side argued social security and the energy crisis.

“I said social security works on paper, but it doesn’t work in reality,” Murphy said.

“Social security worked from the beginning until we overspent and under-funded it. Communism on paper works perfectly, just like social security, but putting something like that into action is absolutely absurd and it would never work in reality.”

Kerch said the energy crisis is linked to consumption and capping consumption linked with increasing fuel efficiency would reduce green house gasses. He also declared a support for the FutureGen power plant and how he feels it belongs in Mattoon.

“We do not feel the need to drill for oil in America anymore,” Kerch said. “Simply increase gas mileage 10 miles-per-gallon would destroy dependency on foreign oil.”

Bulgar will be hosting a results watch party tonight at 7 p.m. in the cyber lounge of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

Rick Kambic can be reached at 581-7942 or at rwkambic@eiu.edu.

Representing the Democrats Zack Plunkett, sophomore political science major, answers a question dealing with national security and foreign aid. The College Democrat and Republican debates gave students the opportunity to brush up on key election issues pr

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