Friends and fellow countrymen, it’s story time! An epic tale of the Aesop persuasion, gather ‘round for this nail-biter. The elephant, a proud, noble, occasionally blundering beast, facing off against his mortal enemy, the donkey. Lowly and stubborn, but this one’s got some spunk.

In a political era where Sarah Palin rallies crowds of Tea Party activists and President Obama signs treaties to reduce nuclear arms worldwide, Saint Louis politics may seem trivial at best. However, I’d like to urge everyone on this campus to take a minute and think about how important local elections really are – and then take some action.

During the vice presidential debate on Oct. 2, Joe Biden and Sarah Palin were asked what the Bush administration has done right regarding Israel. While both offered interesting commentaries on the current situation in the Middle East, neither was able to offer significant insight.

A friend of my roommate’s, Sarah, came up to me and smiled. She said, “I didn’t know you were a Republican. That’s cool, I am too.” Unlike me, wearing a College Republican shirt and holding a McCain-Palin sign, she had nothing political on her. I asked her why she didn’t want to come help make a presence at the show, and she told me that she has two ultra-liberal suitemates who didn’t know she was a conservative.

Sarah Palin is funny. You want to laugh at her when she says things like “you betcha” or “doggone it” or addresses the government as though speaking to an invisible deity: “Hey Government, you’re not always the solution.”

Drawing in more viewers than any other vice presidential debate in history, Thursday’s vice presidential debate at Washington University went off without a hitch, University Chancellor Mark Wrighton said.

The Gaffe Machine versus the Empty Suit. Working class Catholic versus shotgun-totin’ evangelical. Scranton versus Wasilla.

Thursday night’s debate featured much of what both presidential campaigns had promised, as Senator Joe Biden touted his experience tied with Obama’s vision, and Sarah Palin attempted to appeal to mainstream America.

Despite countless media jabs predicting the worst, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s preparation seemed to pay off as she and Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) went head-to-head in the most anticipated debate of this election cycle.

It’s time for the vice presidential debates. You open your closet, and can’t find anything to wear!