Last week the Brandeis College Democrats hosted a mock presidential debate at Cholmondeley's in which students representing presidential candidates argued over a myriad of issues facing America. High on the list of priorities are health care, the war in Iraq, global warming and energy efficiency and independence. However, the American presidency is really only about one thing: foreign policy.

The American people have come to think that the president is in charge of the federal government. Yet, there are three branches of the federal government; the president heads only one of them. Yes, the president may have more power than any other single individual in the government, but this isn't a monarchy.

Presidents usually face a fierce congressional challenge over their economic and social policy. The role of congress in foreign affairs is usually more limited. For this reason, foreign policy must matter to voters. Domestic bills need to circle through the offices of hundreds of congressmen before having an effect. Foreign dignitaries visit only one office: The Oval Office.

The candidates at Chum's emphasized foreign policy more so than in past presidential campaigns. The Democrats have taken this up as an important issue largely because under President Bush, our role on the world stage has deteriorated tremendously. The United States once played the king on that stage; now we are more like the court jester.

By entering Iraq without the support of the United Nations and the international community, Bush was essentially saying that America is so strong that it doesn't need help. However, though America may have the military capabilities to start a war alone, the current administration doesn't have the strength or ability to end it, as evidenced by the civil war in Iraq. Bush's inability to end the war is in part a result of alienating America's world partners at the war's beginning. Now, in our hour of need, we have no one to help us.

But Bush doesn't have to worry about the destructive effects of his administration's policy of unilateralism because he didn't pay for this war in cash; he charged it to his Visa. The problems created by disregarding the international community will not be felt by Bush; his term is up in 15 months. These problems are being passed on to the next generation, and here's the catch; the next generation is us.

Yes, we, the young American college students who most likely weren't even old enough to elect our current president, are now inheriting his credit card bill. I'm not talking about the dollar cost of the Iraq war-although we get to pay that too. I'm talking about paying for the damages created by ignoring the importance of strengthening and maintaining positive relations with other nations.

Yet fear not, the state of the nation isn't hopeless. This time around, we get a vote, and a voice. We should pick up the challenge of New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman '75; we don't have to be "Generation Q," the quiet generation who stands idly by as our foreign relations decay. We have the power to do more than create Facebook groups. Some students on campus are already using their voices. The Chum's debate was an example of students taking action to influence our political future. And every candidate had a proposal for Iraq. The question is which one is the best, but that's for each of us to decide.



The writer is a member of the Class of 2010.

Editors note: Forum Editor Daniel Ortner participated in this debate.