With two failed presidential candidates from different parties debating so close to the election, one would expect some degree of animosity or tension between the two.
However, in a sold-out Irvine Auditorium event last night, former Democratic Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and former Reform Party candidate Pat Buchanan turned a potentially contentious debate into a friendly discussion.
Dean and Buchanan expressed surprisingly similar views on many prominent issues in the upcoming election.
"It was weird," said Wharton freshman Eric Hoffman, one of the approximately 1,000 student attendees. "I've never seen such a right-wing Christian fundamentalist agree with Howard Dean on so many issues."
Even Dean marveled at how much the two saw eye-to-eye.
"I think I just got passed on my left," Dean said in response to one of Buchanan's more liberal statements. He later added, "I'm frightened by how much I agree with Pat Buchanan today."
In contrast to the tone of the presidential debates, this debate proved that political discourse can be conducted cordially.
"We can be on totally opposite sides of an issue and still be patriotic," Buchanan said.
Sponsored by the Social Planning and Events Committee's Connaissance branch, the debate focused on timely issues such as the Iraq war, the economy and immigration.
"It was the most intellectual discussion I've heard in the campaign, and they have nothing to do with the campaign," College junior Daniel Mims said. "I almost wish these were the presidential candidates."
Dean, who is most famous for creating a grassroots movement in last year's Democratic primaries by using Web logs, gave his unequivocal support to Democratic candidate John Kerry.
"I don't think the president is credible, and I don't trust him," Dean said. "I believe John Kerry will beat George Bush, because people will not tolerate a president who is not truthful."
However, Buchanan, who worked in the Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan administrations, questioned Kerry's credibility.
"The question is why John Kerry is not ahead by 10 points," he said, adding, "He is a man who is simply not credible -- what comes across is a man of no core or conviction."
Drawing on the George W. Bush administration's attempts to peg Kerry as a flip-flopper, Buchanan said, "I can't vote for John Kerry because I don't know where this man stands. He is the political windsurfer in the wind of American politics."
However critical Buchanan was of Kerry, he was equally harsh toward Bush.
Buchanan took critical views on the prospect of pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq, winning the war on terror and effectively using the Patriot Act.
"He may be wrong, but he believes what he says," Buchanan said of Bush.
Both speakers directed messages to students in the audience, encouraging them to vote.
"This is an incredibly important election for you," Buchanan said. "I do believe our ... country is in serious trouble."
Dean echoed Buchanan's charge to American youths.
"This is your country," Dean said, citing the environment, Social Security and college financial aid as issues that will mostly affect young people.
