We constantly hear about how college is supposed to be a trial place for new ideas. New ideas like communism. Our student government’s experiment at Principia College has produced some humorous and rather predictable results.

Before last Friday, President Obama seemed to have lost his notorious luster. His epic campaign speeches – which continued well after the election and inauguration, promising a new type of foreign policy that would revolutionize the status quo and change the world – appeared to have no effect in world affairs.

Pollution is bad. Yes, despite popular belief, Republicans and skeptics of global warming agree that carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, particulate matter, and any of the harmful pollutants people emit can be hurtful to our earth and its people.

The battle for the heart of the Republican party has intensified. Senator Arlen Specter’s precipitous party switch has everyone asking the question: should the GOP be more moderate? In this fight, everyone seems to be arguing that their own political ideology should govern the party, rather than looking at what can bring Republicans together.

Will Buchanan. OK, maybe not, but one thing is certain: Will is a gentleman and a scholar. I have had the distinct privilege of sharing this page with him for the last year and a half, and I will miss writing against him. Will’s excellence also illustrates a key point: good people aren’t neccesarily Republicans. Which leads me back to the question:

Who is a Republican? Sarah Palin or Bobby Jindal? Rush Limbaugh or Ron Paul? Rudy Giuliani or Mike Huckabee? Ask any one of them and they will claim the conservative title, but who’s actually right?

This election has made something very clear: if the Republicans want to win, they need a new philosophy. I have a strategy that will work if the GOP is ready to listen.