Sen. John Kerry is trying to do to President George W. Bush what Bill Clinton did to George H. W. Bush 12 years ago: halt Republican re-election to the presidency.

Some at NIU think he will succeed. Some think he will fail. And others cannot decide who will win.

Political science professor Barbara Burrell gave Kerry the nod, even as poll results have been split.

“Democrats have seemingly out-registered people in some of the key battleground states,” Burrell said. “If the Democrats get those people out and things go smoothly at voting stations, I would predict a substantial win by John Kerry.”

The elder Bush lost because of the economy and a weak campaign, Burrell said, while Clinton focused on bettering the economy and used middle-of-the-road positions on other issues.

She said the difference between the two elections is that the younger Bush is running an aggressive campaign that benefits from people’s fears about terrorism.

Others think the Bush ’04 campaign is making the same mistakes as the 1992 campaign.

“George Bush Sr. made the mistake of losing some of his conservative supporters. George W. Bush has made the same mistake,” political science professor Larry Arnhart, said.

George W. Bush has abandoned conservative principles of limited government, individual liberty and a realistic foreign policy, Arnhart said – and instead has promoted massive growth of federal power.