Bowles Lays Out Issues, Priorities

The event seemed like any introductory level class.

But the students filling Hamilton Hall on Monday were wide-awake and tuned in to U.S. Senate hopeful Democrat Erskine Bowles.

"There is not a soul in the class of 1967 that thought I'd be up here at the front of the class instead of way in the back," Bowles said.

Bowles returned to his alma mater to address members of the Young Democrats and any other individuals interested in the 2002 Senate election.

"Getting me to come to Chapel Hill is easy," he said. "I love this place."

Bowles, a Greensboro native, earned a business degree from UNC in 1967. He served as the director of the U.S. Small Business Administration in 1993 under then-President Bill Clinton. Bowles returned to Washington, D.C., in 1996 to serve as Clinton's White House chief of staff until 1998. He lives in Charlotte.

Bowles will face State Rep. Dan Blue, former Durham City Council member Cynthia Brown and N.C. Secretary of State Elaine Marshall in the Sept. 10 Democratic primary.

Bowles told the attentive audience that he is not running for Senate because of personal aspirations.

"I can watch 'West Wing' and get my ego stroked pretty well," he said. "Now I just want the chance to go back to Washington and go to work."

Bowles said he chose to run because he simply could not return to his old work after Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"I kept hearing my dad's admonition that 'all of us have to add to the community woodpile,'" he said. "I realized that I want to spend the rest of my life in public service. I really thought I could go back to Washington as your senator and really make a difference."

There are five key issues that Bowles intends to address if elected.

He said he will throw his full weight behind forming a strong national security policy.

"I'm going to support the president in the war on terrorism because, believe you me, it's real," Bowles said.

But he maintained that he will guard civil liberties and take a microscope to the military budget.

"If the president really needs that money, I'll make sure he gets it," Bowles said. "But he has to need it."

A strong economy is also essential for domestic security, he said.

"I want to make sure we have strong national economic policies," Bowles said. "And that means putting people back to work. It's a tough job market out there."

He also cited improving public education at all levels, revamping the national healthcare system and protecting the environment as top priorities.

When pressed by an audience member during a cordial question-and-answer session, Bowles said he would support President Bush in a military initiative against Iraq given that Bush was willing to make his case to U.S. citizens.

"I believe that, at the end of the day, the president will be able to make his case," he said. "This Saddam Hussein is a bad guy."

Margaret Teich, an undeclared freshman, said that she found Bowles' speech charming but that she thinks the election will come down to more than folksy campaigning.

"I liked his down-home approach," Teich said. "(But) I think it will be a difficult primary for him."

 

The State & National Editor can be reached at stntdesk@unc.edu.