On Thursday, Sept. 11, Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama took a break from formal campaigning and aptly visited New York City’s Columbia University to call students to service in efforts to highlight what they think President Bush should have done after 9/11.
Obama, an alumnus of Columbia, highlighted one of his many campaign pledges – an annual $4,000 tuition credit to students from the government in exchange for their service to the community.
“What we also want to do is to remind young people that if it weren't for government, then we wouldn't have a Civil Rights Act. If it weren't for government, we would not have the interstate highway system. If it weren't for government, we would not have some of our parks and natural wilderness areas that are so precious to America. And so part of my job, I think, as president, is to make government cool again," said Obama.
McCain had similar views and wants Americans to feel a stronger calling to community service. He blames the lack of such a feeling to President Bush not encouraging people to help out after that fateful day in September of 2001.
He supports the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps, but unlike Obama, does not think the government should over-involve itself in such volunteer programs.
Their first televised appearance since their respective party’s national convention, McCain and Obama launched the two-day ServiceNation summit moderated by Judy Woodruff of PBS and Time managing editor Rick Stengel. Around 7,500 students gathered outside the library to watch on a screen while the event occurred in Roone Arledge Auditorium, which was comprised 100 students, families of September 11 victims, and celebrities like Tobey Maguire and Usher.
Click here to watch the ServiceNation Summit.
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