Re: Where are we?

Description: "The war in Iraq, the war in Iraq, and the war in Iraq."

Question:When you read the newspaper or watch the news, what questions stand out for you?

Transcript: The big issues that stand out for me when I read the newspaper are the war in Iraq, the war in Iraq, and the war in Iraq. Those are the top three. After that, I think there’s global warming. There’s corruption and the violation of the rule of law. There’s not a lot of good news when I read the newspaper.

Question: What should be the big issues of the 2008 presidential election?

Transcript: Well I think the big issues that should be are probably the big issues that will be. I think there’s no doubt that the war in Iraq is an issue. I think it would be a shame if that became the only issue. I think the idea of equal opportunity in this country has to be an issue in this country. It’s . . . We’re a country of immigrants. It’s what we stand for, is being open and giving people who are hard working and talented opportunity. So I think the issues are, you know . . . ought to be our stance toward the rest of the world, education for our own people, and opportunity . . . jobs.

Question: What should the candidates be saying about education?

Transcript: I think the candidates should be saying that this is a country that has prided itself . . . The American dream is a dream of opportunity for all young people. And the only way we can make good that dream is to make great secondary and elementary education available for all our young people. And we have to support and reform our public school system.

Question: How does the immigration debate affect higher education?

Transcript: America is a country of immigrants. Most Americans can’t trace their roots back to the founding. Immigrants have made this country as great as it is. Immigration is the great engine of progress in this country tied to the freedom . . . the Constitutional freedoms that this country gives all of its citizens. So it is a tragedy, in my mind, that Republicans and Democrats couldn’t come together on a compromise on immigration recently. It is, to me, an absolute necessity that we continue to find a way of not only allowing, but welcoming immigrants into this country.

Recorded on: 7/2/07