The students were excited to be part of the political process; they admitted that at times it is difficult being a Democrat in this city.
“We are an underground society,” joked one of the high school members.
Another member, Jaclyn O’Driscoll, a senior, said that 2008 will be the first year she will be old enough to vote.
“I am following the campaigns very closely,” O’Driscoll said. She also said that the school’s club has a good, strong following.
“There is a bit of a myth that all of La Cañadans are Republican,” Mealey said in an interview with the Valley Sun. “With events like this we want to turn La Cañada blue and, thanks to George W. Bush, we might.”
Mealey added that the mood of the country, and of La Cañada, has changed over the years.
“Four hundred people attended an anti-war rally at Memorial Park in 2003,” he said. “When I moved here 15 years ago we just didn’t talk about politics. That’s changed.”
Wilson is a high profile speaker that never falters when asked his opinion of the current administration and its practices. He has served both Democrat and Republican presidents throughout his career as an ambassador. He was the last American official to meet with Saddam Hussein before the start of the Gulf War in 1990. He acted as U.S. Ambassador in Iraqi throughout Operation Desert Storm. President George H.W. Bush called him “a true American hero” for his efforts in helping to free American hostages in Iraq after Hussein invaded Kuwait.
