Barcelona CEA Conference: OBAMA vs McCAIN

REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS IN SPAIN KICK OFF CEA CONFERENCE SERIES IN BARCELONA 2008-2009 Before a packed audience at the Journalists College in Barcelona in October, Democrats and Republican study abroad students battled it out for the absentee vote in Barcelona in the curtain raiser event to CEA’s Conference Series for the Academic Year 2008-2009. Students, local media and US Consulate staff were captivated by the intense debate as James Levy (SpainforMcCain) and Sean Carroll (Democrats Abroad) fought over domestic issues, foreign policy, the Vice Presidential candidates and looked ahead to the November elections. Moderated by the Barcelona CEA Head of Studies Dr. Christopher Tulloch, Levy and Carroll used contrasting styles to persuade the floating voters present. Levy, a regular on Spanish television, was more comfortable with the head-to-head format and attacked the Democrat presidential candidate for his “overwhelming ego”. He was particularly aggressive on Barack Obama’s foreign policy stand accusing the Democrats of backing a candidate who was more interested in being a “citizen of the world instead of a President of the United States which the world needs”. Carroll went on the counterattack by ridiculing Sarah Palin and describing McCain as the mere prolongation of George Bush who, he said, had taken the American people “well away from where we want to be”. After the face-off, students and journalists quizzed both speakers on issues such as the future of the relationship between the US and Europe, the health care system, the energy crisis and education. All in all, a lively start to the Conference Series at the CEA Barcelona GlobalCampus.