Mack could have allowed Obama to visit with the team without the army of photogs in tow to make it PR fest. In those pictures (and make no mistake--the pictures are what matter), UT looks like a damn campaign fundraiser, which makes me sick. The University is higher than petty politics. I'm very worried about how The University has handled this debate. Am I glad such a high profile event is happening at UT? Yes. Should The University sacrifice its role as a place for the objective exchange of ideas to cater to the democratic candidates? No. Regardless your political leanings, its never a good thing when a university, esp. MY university, starts acting buddy buddy with a political party.
If Obama or Clinton want to put a presidential library in Austin for scholars and students to study their administration in the years after its ended, then power to 'em. But that's not going to happen.
I didn't see any problem with it and I am a huge conservative and will never vote for Obama. It was an honor for him to be able to see the greatest institution in the land and meet the best football coach and players in the world. He should hang these pictures in his office.
I wish more people could put partisan politics aside for a few minutes & look at the big picture. Mack & the Longhorn players are not endorsing Obama or any candidate for that matter. What Mack has done is given the student-athletes the ability to participate in diplomacy on a grand scale. Mack is constantly talking to the players about being involved in the community & how their actions off the field make a stronger statement about who they are as human beings. I'm willing to bet that 20 years from now many of the players who participated in this event will talk about what a positive experience it was & how much they learned in a short period of time.
That KEYE video segment was awesome. If I was a recruit (or the parents of a recruit) I would be honored to come to Texas. The atmosphere seems so positive and all the players that Obama talked to were articulate and interesting. What a great thing to let all those young men meet a presidential candidate. Very cool.
If this would have been McCain none of the people upset by this would have said a word. Get over it. Obama is going to be president and there is nothing you can do to stop it.
All right then, if the meeting cannot be arranged without the University becoming some sort of media token, then quit it. I can't understand why everyone is excited about this. I'm worried. It sets a bad standard for UT--what if another candidate wants the same sort of attention that Obama and the debate got, and then doesn't get it? You think that would go over just great? I understand that Obama is the greatest speaker since Jesus Christ, JFK, Martin Luther King Jr., and the hypnotoad combined, but it just seems to compromise the University's role as an objective institution.
If you can't see the difference between pictures of "staff, faculty, administrators, coaches, landmarks" with political figures and a pol acting chummy with the football team of the flagship University on the day of a debate in a highly contested battleground state, then I guess you really do not understand my concerns.
Maybe Mack was using Obama for even more recruiting exposure. If you are 16-18 years old, which candidate would you rather your potential college coach hanging with. Obama or Old Mama Clinton? They were using each other ... Hook'em
So DRAG69, may I then presume that you wouldn't be upset and chiming in if it had been McCain or Huckabee in place of Obama? Actually I think it's kinda cool. I'm definitely no Democrat, and wouldn't vote for either Clinton or Obama if my life depended on it, but I doubt the guy was passing out campaign literature to our players, trying to influence their votes, or soliciting the endorsement of any of our coaching staff.
And one other thing DRAG69, there are several things I can do to help stop Obama from being elected POTUS. I could vote for Hillary in the primary (but certainly won't), I could vote for McCain in the general election, I could volunteer for the McCain campaign, I could drive registered Republican voters to the polls on election day.
Torbush. This whole thread. Now I'm reminded of why I never visit West Mall anymore. How many Republicans are in town to have a debate right now? Huckabee's the closest one and he's in San Antonio, right? That's what I thought. This is not about political parties. This is about an important social, cultural, and political event of great historical significance occurring in your backyard and taking that opportunity to expose young men and women--who very publicly represent The University every day, I might add--to the participants in that important event, particularly when this is a **Presidential election** (seriously...how many of you have ever gotten to hang out with ANY real contender for the office of President of the United States?), not to mention the fact that a woman and a black man have, for the first time in the history of this country, a real, true, honest-to-God chance at being elected President. Republican or Democrat, if one of the top 3 or 4 candidates for POTUS lets it be known that he wants to sit down and talk to you and see your house, backyard, and the trophy you won at the Terlingua Chili Cook-Off, tell me you would refuse. Sometimes we are more aggy than aggy.
As we're in the stands and not the West Mall, I'll leave the pro-war issue alone. We can agree to disagree (right?). And I totally agree with your second paragraph. I shall now refrain from posting on this thread for the remainder of the day, and instead count down the hours to 5:00 when I can begin smoking and drinking.
Good grief! Take a look at this picture: Take note of the expression on most of those faces. Those are HOLY-CRAP-I'M-MEETING-WITH-BARACK-OBAMA looks. What a great opportunity for the players...
