Senator speaks out on Iraq, economy

Despite his multiple appearances on television evening news shows and newspaper front pages, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) thinks that Saddam Hussein may be overrated. "I think there are lots of threats out there, and Hussein is not the worst of them," Wyden said. "But there is no doubt that he's a pathological bad guy." The conflict with Iraq was one of several issues addressed at a talk given by Wyden at the Fels Institute of Government on Friday. His visit to campus coincided with a fundraising trip for his upcoming re-election campaign as well as the 19th birthday of his son Adam, a Wharton freshman. Wyden -- who was one of only 23 senators to vote against the resolution to authorize President Bush to attack Iraq if Saddam Hussein refuses to disarm as required by United Nations resolutions -- discussed the implications of military involvement in response to a question brought up by a student following his speech. "If you don't have a good collection of countries who stand with you, you are very much at risk of being at risk," he said. Wyden said he does not doubt the power of the United States in dealing with Iraqi forces, he explained, but rather the possibility of adverse global reaction. "We are going to win all the fights in the short term," Wyden said. "We have enough military power to clean anybody's clock in the short run. The question is, what consequences will a win mean for the long term?" Despite Wyden's progressive stance on finding alternative energy sources, he is not of the opinion that war with Iraq is driven exclusively by U.S. access to oil. Instead, he sees the conflict as a matter of clashing cultural practices. "In many countries, there is great resentment against the openness of our society and the way we treat women," Wyden said. In addition, Wyden's talk was centered around three issues -- energy independence, rebuilding national infrastructure and expanding healthcare coverage. In order to find alternative sources of energy, Wyden said, "We need to shape a new energy policy free of dependence on foreign oil." Specifically, Wyden's first step would be to popularize the use of alternative fuel for cars. "If you do something concrete to put a hydrogen car on the streets, the tax man will not cometh." With respect to the floundering economy, Wyden proposed increasing jobs by refurbishing the national infrastructure. "The principle part of economic stimulus is to pump dollars into productive areas so that the middle class can spend and invest in the economy in the way only the middle class can do," he said. Wyden also spoke briefly about his unlikely entry into politics. His early aspirations were unlike those of the typical politician. He attended the University of California at Santa Barbara on a basketball scholarship before transferring to Stanford University and later graduating from the University of Oregon School of Law. "All I wanted to do was be in the National Basketball Association," Wyden said. "I think I cracked open a book two times between the ages of 12 and 17." Wyden began his career in politics as an advocate for the elderly at the state level. He spent 15 years in the House of Representatives before being elected to the Senate in 1996. "I had never run for anything before," Wyden said "Not even student body eraser cleaner." But Wyden noted that in his transformation from basketball player to U.S. senator, he found that both professions demanded many of the same skills. "The parallels between basketball and Congress are more than you would think," Wyden said. "Both deal with people who, at times, have strong feelings [and] egos." "The name of the game is to work hard, play by the rules and be creative," Wyden said. Audience members, many of whom were Fels Institute graduate students, responded positively to what the senator had to say. "I enjoyed it," Wharton sophomore Patrick Sherlock said. "I was glad I came. He got his positions across."