Marlize van Romburgh

When independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader came to Cal Poly to speak in late September, hundreds piled into the auditorium and overflowed out into the hallway outside, hustling and bustling to get a seat. Mixed in the shuffle stood Scott Waddell, a student passionate about politics but without a candidate.

A friend had e-mailed him information about the Nader which peaked his interest. Not finding that either of the two major-party candidates resonated with him, Waddell decided to go hear Nader speak.

As the Peace and Freedom party candidate took the stage, he received a several minute-long standing ovation from an energetic and vocal crowd.

San Luis Obispo congresswoman Lois Capps (D-Calif.) went head-to-head with Republican John McCain earlier this week when the presidential candidate held a rally in Santa Barbara to discuss energy issues.

McCain visited Santa Barbara on Monday and Tuesday; the first day for a private fundraiser with local Republicans, the second for a green energy rally at Museum of Natural History alongside Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

MSNBC reported that the demonstration outside the rally was the largest anti-McCain gathering they’ve seen this election season.

McCain recently proposed lifting the moratorium on offshore drilling in an effort to increase domestic oil production and ease consumer gas prices.

Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich rallied his troops at the Reggae Festival on Saturday in downtown San Luis Obispo, where he spoke to a small but passionate crowd about “ending global warring and global warming.”

Easily regarded as the most liberal candidate of his party, Kucinich is currently racing near the back of the pack in the bid for the Democratic nomination.

However, neither he nor his supporters found a need to acknowledge this fact on Saturday, when Kucinich spoke about his plan to end the war in Iraq, to replace reliance on fossil fuels with green technologies and to start a single-payer, universal health care system.