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   After introductions were made by the debate moderator, Dr. Frank Pryor, a full-time instructor in the University’s political science department, each speaker addressed the audience for 15-20 minutes followed by random questions from the audience.

   Dr. William Bennett, who is known to cross party lines on certain issues, eased into his speech with humor, recounting his time spent as President Ronald Reagan’s chairman of National Endowment for the Humanities and Secretary of Education, and President George H. W. Bush’s “drug czar.”

   As for the upcoming presidential election, Bennett focused on one issue, the war on terror. Despite the fact that no WMDs (weapons of mass destruction) were found in Iraq, Bennett outlined several reasons why President Bush was justified in invading Iraq, reminding the audience, numerous times, that over 30 million Muslims have been liberated since the president’s actions following 9/11. “Bush has achieved big, monumental accomplishments that he should be proud of, that I am proud of,” said Bennett. Defending Bush, Bennett detailed the president’s achievements, such as crushing the Taliban in Afghanistan, liberating Muslims throughout the Middle East and capturing or killing 75 percent of Al-Queda, a statistic which Dean later challenged.

   Expressing concerns about John Kerry, Bennett attacked Kerry’s inconsistencies which have surfaced over the past few months. Preferring Bush’s blunt and candid persona, Bennett stood strongly by Bush because he said he knows what Bush stands for unlike Kerry.

   Howard Dean’s forceful presentation was dramatically opposed to Bennett’s. In it, he stated that this election is about more than the war on terror.  It is also about the needs of ordinary people that Bush has forgotten over the past four years.

   In response to Bennett, Dean attacked Bush’s reasons for going into Iraq, believing that Bush is not telling the American people the truth. Dean expressed his concern that Iraq will never become a democracy. “While democracy in Iraq would be good, this is a region which hasn’t experienced anything like this in over 7,000 years. Terrorists are increasingly coordinating attacks throughout Iraq and other parts of the world. This is at the expense of hundreds of lives,” stated Dean. Dean also voiced concern that he believes the next step Bush will take is to implement a draft, affecting the very students he was talking to.

   Instead of focusing only on the war, Dean also addressed important issues, to him and Kerry, such as health insurance, jobs, fiscal responsibility and public education. Dean pointed out that Bush’s tax cuts didn’t help ordinary people and that the loss of jobs hasn’t been this bad since Herbert Hoover’s presidency during the Great Depression. Dean expressed his support for Kerry who held similar views to help ordinary Americans.

   During the question-answer portion of the debate, audience members asked more about the war in Iraq, health care and education. Both Bennett’s and Dean’s views regarding the topics received applause, ovations and even boos. The Bennett-Dean debate attracted equal numbers of attendees who waved Kerry/Edwards and Bush/Cheney signs throughout the Pavilion.