So my first blog on why Obama has failed UNC students has been a huge success. I've received over 15,000 hits from all over the globe, over 100 tweets and Facebook posts, and "fan mail" from students who share my same ideals. For that, I thank you.

However, many of you disagreed with me that Obama's visit was a campaign event rather than an official presidential visit. I'm here to make a rebuttal to say that it was, in fact, a campaign event. 

First of all, if anyone looked at the president's schedule on the day of the actual event, he/she would have seen the words "no public schedule." This seems odd for UNC students because we all knew on Friday, April 20th that the president was visiting. Even on Tuesday, April 24th, the day of his visit, his schedule was still closed to the public. 

Why? Because it was not an official White House event. The event was sponsored by Obama for America. 

Why else would Obama visit colleges in North Carolina, Colorado, and Iowa? Because they're all in swing states. Because he has to energize the disenchanted college voters. Because he has to suck in all the new voters who weren't able to support him in 2008. 

In order to keep college student support, Obama has to preach to the choir and give them what they want to hear - I'm not going to raise your rates

Obama does this, even though the rate increase would only apply to new student loans. 

Current college students won't receive the increased rate; those starting after this year will. 

Both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have swayed away from this fact in order to appeal to college students. For instance, in his speech in Chapel Hill, Obama asked the students if anyone could "pay an extra $1,000 right now?" 

I might also add that at anytime the chancellor of the university introduces a speaker on campus, it's a university-sponsored event. That's exactly what happened at the Obama campaign rally. 

Would Mitt Romney be welcomed to UNC by Chancellor Thorp? I seriously doubt it. 

In addition, if you look at Obama's campaign website today, you will see a glowing article about UNC Student Body President Will Leinmenstoll

In my opinion, the student body president, an individual who represents the entire student body, should never be part of a political campaign in which he/she uses his/her title. Never. 

Instead of finding another student to appear on Obama's website, the campaign used the student body president to make it appear as if UNC backs Obama. The campaign easily could have picked any of the other 8,000+ students that attended one of the events, but no, they picked Leinmenstoll. 

Leinmenstoll does not speak for the entire student body in supporting Barack Obama's possible reelection. 

If you were to really examine what increased rates on student loans will actually do, it only amounts to about $50 a month. If a student really cannot afford $50, I suggest less Starbucks and bar jumping. $50 is the equivalent of about 12 drinks from Starbucks (which for some is an underestimate for what they actually consume in a month) or about 8 pints of beer. 

Now I'm not totally on board with doubling rates. I'm just putting it into perspective. What I do know is that we have a debt crisis, folks. We've got to find ways to cut government spending and generate revenue. This doesn't mean we need to raise taxes. We've got to be more original than that.

If we really want to talk about lowering the cost to attend college, let's begin a real discussion here at UNC on how we can cut costs. 

There's enough waste at UNC that can be cut in order to keep tuition low. We all know it. 

Instead of tweeting your members of Congress, why not tweet Holden Thorp and ask him to find significant cuts? Why not write your state legislator and tell him/her where you see cuts that should be made? 

The real cost of college boils down to the states. They make the tuition decisions. This increase in student loan interest rates is being used as nothing more than a campaign tool. 

The economy is the real problem our candidates for president need to be concerned with. Finding jobs for college graduates; that's the challenge.
 
 
President Obama visited UNC-Chapel Hill today to deliver a speech on student loans and to guest star on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Typical of UNC students, they went hysterical when they learned that Obama would be on campus. Thousands waited in lines to receive a ticket to either the rally or to Late Night, many camping out overnight to get their "golden ticket." Also typical of UNC students, they felt that Obama's visit demonstrates that he "really cares about college students" and "he especially loves UNC." 

Once again, UNC students are completely oblivious to the truth. Obama loves visiting UNC as much as he loves visiting the doctor for a colonoscopy. It's something he has to do in order to win reelection. In order to win, Obama has to court North Carolinians again and hope that they turn out for him in the polls; if not, he's toast. In addition, Obama has to get his group of volunteers ready for November. And where is he going to find these volunteers? College campuses, of course. And what better college campus than the largest liberal campus in the state - my beloved UNC. 

UNC students fell into his trap once again today. At the rally, students began chanting "four more years" and cheered anytime Obama opened his mouth. Then students were treated to a free live taping of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon with special guests Obama and Dave Matthews. What more could they ask for?

How about jobs? How about economic opportunities? How about a promise that they don't have to live in their parent's basement when they graduate? How about the promise of the American dream? 

Once again, his speech was pointless and demonstrated his arrogance to the needs of the American people and the average college student. 

In his speech, Obama pointed the blame directly on Republicans for not doing more to help college students. He cited that the Republicans in Congress are seeking to double the interest rates on federal student loans. He urged college students to step-up, write their legislators, and demand keeping rates where they are. He even encouraged students to tweet #dontdoublemyrate in an effort to swing members of Congress and a clear effort by Obama to appeal himself to college students. 

Here's something UNC students didn't realize today and Obama failed to mention: while a US Senator, Obama missed not one, but TWO votes on the student loan interest rate bill that he now wants Congress to pass. 

Now all of a sudden, Obama is concerned about student loans. Why? Because it's an election year. Because he has to appeal to his base of college students. Because he has to win North Carolina. 

Get it? 

In 2008, Obama won 66% of the youth vote. In North Carolina, 74% of young voters supported him. He has to do it again. All he has to do is utter the words "student loans" and he gets applause on college campuses. 

But here's the truth. "It's the economy, stupid!"

What's the point in arguing over interest rates on student loans when students can't find jobs to pay off those loans once they graduate? 

According to the Pew Research Center, 54.3% of individuals between the ages of 18 and 24 have jobs. Only 54.3%?! One in four teens had a job in 2011, meaning 75% of teens will not have any job experience when they enter college. This doesn't even cover underemployment rates. 

The president needs to focus on creating jobs for students instead of wasting taxpayer money flying around campaigning for November. 

#dontdobulemyrate on unemployment and underemployment, Mr. President. 

In regards to student loans, Obama looked into the crowd of college students and said, "You don't like it. You don't like debt." Damn straight, I don't like debt. I don't like the government spending so much that my great-grandchildren will have to pay off the debt. I don't like it when the national debt is over $14 trillion. I don't like that we're in debt to the Chinese for the rest of my lifetime. 

Straight out of his playbook, Obama continued to assert that he inherited this economy. In his speech, he claimed that it's not his fault for "the deficit they ran up the past decade." Need he be reminded that he had a supermajority in Congress his first two years in office? He could have done whatever he wanted. If he has solutions for America now, why didn't he institute them two years ago?

Well, Obama can just tax the rich and the country's fiscal shape will be better. WRONG! But that's what Obama would have students believe at his rally when he advocated for everyone to pay their "fair share" in taxes. In reality, overtaxing the wealthy, the job creators, will only further our country down a path of fiscal insolvency. When taxes are low for all income brackets, revenues are high. This has been proven throughout modern history with the Johnson tax cuts in 1964 (yes, liberal LBJ passed a tax cut - even more shocking, it was a Kennedy proposal), the Reagan tax cuts, and the Bush tax cuts.

Increasing taxes on anyone in a recession spells disaster for the world economy. If Obama really wants Americans to pay their "fair share" and if he really strives for tax equality, then here's what he should do. First, he should address the fact that 46% of households did not pay income taxes in 2011. I say, if you want to live, work, learn, vote, and use government services in this country, you must pay something. 

Second, if Obama wants equality, why not institute a flat tax? The rich would pay the same rate as the poor. It can't get anymore fair than that. Or even the Fair Tax, where taxation is based on consumption; the more you consume, the more you pay in taxes. Seems pretty logical to me. 

Lastly, I want to address the Republican congresswoman that Obama quoted during his rally today in Chapel Hill. Here's what Obama said:

“She said she had ‘very little tolerance for people who tell me they graduate with debt because there’s no reason for that.’ I’m just quoting here...the students who rack up student loan debt are just ‘sitting on their butts having opportunity dumped in your lap.’ I’m reading it here. I didn’t make this up.” 

The congresswoman he quoted is Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC 5). The quotation from Obama came from a recent radio interview Foxx did. Here's what Foxx actually said:

"I have very little tolerance for people who tell me that they graduate with $200,000 of debt or even $80,000 of debt because there’s no reason for that. We live in an opportunity society and people are forgetting that. I remind folks all the time that the Declaration of Independence says ‘life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.’ You don’t sit on your butt and have it dumped in your lap."

Obama clearly misquoted Virginia Foxx in a way to paint Republicans as hatemongers who care nothing for college students. In reality, Republicans do care about college students. And to blow every UNC student's mind, Mitt Romney actually supports keeping the interest rates on student loans where they are now, it's not an Obama invention. 

I'll give Obama some credit, he's a great campaigner. He has been able to get millions of people to fall into his trap so easily a caveman could do it. Conservatives need to realize this. 

Conservatives need to be in-line with the newest social media technologies. They need to have a strong presence on every college campus across America. They need to go out there and spread the truth: that Obama isn't working.

I urge all fellow college students to avoid falling into the Obama trap. To not be subjected to Obama and his liberal ways that have further destroyed our economy, our national prominence, and the American Dream. To avoid the temptation of becoming an Obama zombie

I hope my fellow students enjoyed waiting hours in line to get tickets to see President Obama for his 20 minutes worth of speech. If he wins reelection (God help us), their line waiting was great practice for the line waiting they will have to do in the soup lines