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Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., brought campaign rhetoric to GW Wednesday night in an appearance before GW College Democrats.
For more than an hour, Dorgan discussed a number of foreign and domestic issues including the current economic crisis. He also repeatedly attacked the Bush administration, and emphasized his support of Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama.
“Your future is impacted by what is happening,” Dorgan said. “It’s impacted by the war in Iraq. It’s impacted by energy policy, health care policy, the financial crisis. All of these will have an impact on your future. That is why it is so important for young people in this country to be part of this process.”
Dorgan said he is unsure of whether the $700 billion bailout by President George W. Bush is the solution and may not be a cure-all for the economy.
“Look at what happened on Monday, it was the biggest single-day drop on the value of the U.S. dollar, the biggest single-day increase on a barrel of oil and at the same time the stock market fell about 350 points all in one day,” Dorgan said.
When asked about the national infrastructure and debt, Dorgan blamed Bush.
“The Bush administration has been just horrible. It’s been awful,” he said. “We will take decades to recover from this malfeasance. This is the worst presidency in a long, long time and in virtually every area.”
He added, “This presidency is going to be over soon and it can’t be over soon enough.”
An early supporter of Obama, Dorgan had great enthusiasm for the nominee. He described the Illinois senator as a relaxed man with great skill and depth of experience.
“Barack is one of the most interesting, gifted people that I’ve served with,” Dorgan said. “He came to the United States Senate, immediately there was something about Barack Obama that you could recognize that represented a different set of leadership qualities.”
Senior Cory Struble, president of the CDs said, “I thought Sen. Dorgan brought a clarity to life working in the Senate to students while also providing a good Democratic perspective on the most important issues we face, and why Obama should be the next president.”
