They had very good intentions in trying to secure a professional,
politically affiliated speaker who could shed light on the current
state of the nation around the time of the upcoming election. They may
have splurged, but when compared with the randomness of past guests
such as Ben Stein and the short list of other possible speakers - Karl
Rove, terrifyingly enough, was one of the options -a presidential
candidate who was fresh off the campaign trail must have seemed like a
hot ticket, especially because he was.
Well, actually, not for all of us. And that's where the hidden issue
comes in. For a campus-wide lecture open to every university student
who can obtain tickets, it's a bold choice to book a speaker who is
wholly placed on one side of the political spectrum, so much so that he
participated in a full presidential election for the Democratic party.
On top of that, to learn that his character is different than
previously expected means that now large numbers of both Republicans
and Democrats will possibly be upset at the choice.
It's not that we're delving into personal matters by blowing an affair
out of proportion. Edwards did something highly inappropriate, and the
Illini Union Board clearly recognized its significance, considering
they offered him the opportunity to rescind his contract.
What I don't understand is why we don't have that same opportunity.
Edwards? Not on our dollar.
Former Democratic Party presidential candidate John Edwards has suffered a precipitous loss of good-will from the public in the wake of his (extraordinarily) stupid affair with Rielle Hunter. Give him half a point for still taking on speaking engagements. This columnist isn't calling for a human chain to prevent Edwards' motorcade form entering campus—instead she simply asks that the $65,000 the university shelled out for Edwards be returned from whence it came: the students.