Friday,
Oct 20, 2000
Stein visits campus
Sasha Siddhartha/The Stanford
Daily
Ben Stein speaks to students about why they should
vote for Texas Gov. George Bush in the upcoming presidential election.
By AARON STAPLE
Popular actor and comedian Ben Stein spoke on campus last night before a crowd of students assembled in the Manzanita Park courtyard.
The speech, organized by the Stanford Republicans and Castaño, focused mainly on the upcoming presidental election. Stein encouraged students to vote for Republican candidate Texas Gov. George W. Bush and spoke critically of Bush's opponent, Vice President Al Gore.
"I'm sad to say that Mr. Gore has followed the example of his boss and believed that the law does not apply to him," Stein said.
After beginning his talk with a few jokes concerning President Bill Clinton's sexual indiscretions, Stein stated that his primary reason for supporting Bush was that Bush wouldn't try to "short circuit" the Constitution to his own advantage.
He cited Clinton's record of scandals and suggested that a Gore presidency would be plagued by similar problems. Stein called Gore a "bully" and condemned the physical posturing Stein said Gore engaged in during the most recent presidential debate.
"Bush is pretty relaxed about the debates. He takes them as if he were a fraternity boy debating who would be president of the fraternity," Stein said, later adding that Bush was a "smart, quick-witted man."
Stein brought up Bush's track record in Texas, saying that the governor has never been shown to be involved in any ethical violation.
Some audience members questioned Bush's intelligence, but Stein came to the candidate's defense. He pointed out that Bush had graduated in the top half of his class at Harvard, received an MBA and served as a jet fighter pilot. Stein added that, in contrast with Gore, Bush was unconcerned with appearing smart but instead tried to come off as simply a "friendly, pleasant guy."
Stein also did a bit of playing to the crowd, telling a number of jokes and even performing the movie catch phrase he's famous for, "Bueller, Bueller, Bueller," when requested to do so by a student.
Students said they were excited to see Stein.
"It's Ben Stein," sophomore Matt Sargent said, as if that was all the explanation needed to explain his attendance. "I didn't even know there was a political message."
Despite audience praise, the grassy area in Manzanita Park was less than half full.
"I think that, given the short notice, I was pleased [about the attendance]," said event organizer and Stanford Republicans member Keith Proctor.
Although Stein's opposition to Gore is based primarily on personality, he did comment on several political issues, including abortion. Stein is strictly pro-life and referred to abortion as "killing children." However, he also professed a belief in helping discourage abortion, specifically with tax cuts for adoptive and single parents.
"I'm an adoptive parent, and it's the best thing I've done in my life," he said.
Stein additionally countered Gore's criticism of Bush's tax-cut policy, stating that these cuts would not exclusively favor the rich and that the wealthy would still pay the majority of taxes.
Stein, who is Jewish, professed confusion over the fact that most Jews are Democrats rather than Republicans. He announced that historically, Republicans have been friendlier to Jews than Democrats.
Additionally, Stein cited a "culture antithetical to learning" as the reason for the educational problems of inner-city public schools. He questioned whether an influx of money to these schools would boost student performance.
The event, part of a series of talks given by Stein, was organized in part by Stanford Republicans members Proctor and Sam Abrams. Although they personally disagreed with some of Stein's messages, specifically his right-to-life viewpoint and interpretation of the Republican treatment of Jews, they said they were pleased with the talk.
Alluding to more light-hearted subjects, an audience member jokingly questioned how Bush would fare on Stein's show, "Win Ben Stein's Money," to which he responded, "I'd kick his . . . " but announced that Gore would meet the same fate.
Stein, a native of Washington, D. C., is probably best known for his roles in movies and on television, especially for his portrayal of a teacher in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and as the host of Comedy Central's "Win Ben Stein's Money."
Additionally, he has written 16 published books and appeared in many movies, television shows and commercials.
Stein graduated from Yale Law School as valedictorian and has an extensive background in law and economics. He also worked as a speech writer for former-Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.
Stein stated that he felt a connection to Stanford students, perhaps because college students make up a large part of the demographic of his television show. Moreover, his parents lived at Stanford a number of years ago, and he professed to recurring dreams of coming to Stanford.
Overall, Stein said he was pleased with the event, noting that he felt the students in attendance asked very intelligent questions.
Copyright © 2000
The Stanford Daily
