Jordan Blair wants the presidential candidates to do more to reach out to people like her – the non-political junkie.

“I would like to know more about their foreign policies, things like that,” the senior biology major said. “I think that I would be a little more inclined to learn about it if it wasn’t focused on badmouthing each other.”

Some of the chatter surrounding the presidential campaigns in recent weeks included such matters as Barack Obama’s comments about putting “lipstick on a pig” and whether John McCain invented the Blackberry.

While the economy has dominated the talk this week, with a little over six weeks left until the election, students like Blair wonder if the candidates are talking enough about the “issues” so they can make informed decisions at the voting booth, Nov. 4.

“I think they are talking enough about the policies and issues,” said College Democrats President Tony Wadas. “Certainly all of the information is out there for people to find. Whether or not students put forth the effort to be informed … you have to read the news regularly.”

He said while he doesn’t care for negative attacks, they are part of politics and can inform voters – but only if they are accurate.

Wadas said students do want to be informed for this election, more so than in previous election years. And the College Democrats are working to get more NIU students involved: They have set a goal to get at least 5,000 students registered to vote by Election Day.

“The interest in this election among students – It’s just great,” he said. “So far we’ve gotten around 1,000 students registered to vote.”

College Republicans President Meagan Szydlowski has also witnessed students’ enthusiasm for the upcoming election, and she said the candidates aren’t to blame when the “issues” are overshadowed.

“The candidates can try all they want,” she said. “A lot of it has to do with the media. They basically control how it’s covered and what people see.”

Szydlowski said it is up to students to seek out information on the candidates, though she thinks some of the recent “controversies” have been over the top.

“Especially with the ‘lipstick on a pig,’ it just gets out of hand and you don’t get to focus on the issues,” she said.

MatthewStreb, associate professor of political science, has noticed the talk shifting toward more “trivial” issues in recent weeks.

“Those college students who want to vote want to know where the candidates stand on the issues,” he said. “They are likely to be as frustrated as anyone else when the campaigns focus on more trivial things. While it is certainly frustrating … the information on positions on substantive issues is available for people to get. The question is whether people will seek out this information.”

Mo Mirza, a senior corporate communications major, said he watched the conventions and both Obama and McCain are doing a fine job crafting their respective images.

“They’re both doing pretty good,” Mirza said. “They’re not really bashing each other yet, but I’m sure they will pretty soon.”

Sophomore accounting major Pavielle Randolph disagrees.

“I think both of them – they are so worried about what the other one’s doing,” Randolph said.