City: Why didn’t you vote for Kerry?

Chun: I feel like
the top priorities of this country for the next four years should be focused
primarily on the war on terrorism and economic growth and relief. And Kerry’s
programs, raising taxes for corporations and small businesses, I feel that is
going to be detrimental. By raising those taxes, corporations will have less
money to offer domestic jobs. They’ll be forced to export jobs.

Small
businesses make up seven out of 10 jobs in this country. If they’re forced to
pay higher taxes, then they’re not going to be able to allocate their money to
employees or to growing their business. So, basically, the economy’s going to
go to pot if we raise the taxes on the corporations that employ the people.

When
it comes to the war on terrorism, I feel Kerry has no clear plan. He wants to
win the favor of the other countries. How? And he wants to cut funding for
military while Bush wants to increase military pay by 4 percent, which will
help the military keep its top officers and recruit a lot more soldiers.

City: Do you think that some of the international disdain leveled
towards Bush places the US in a precarious position when it comes to terrorism?

Chun: I think it
places us in a tough position in terms of how we handle the war in Iraq from
here on out. If the Bush administration does a good job trying to restore the
peace in Iraq, I feel if other nations see that, the international support will
improve. But if our country is trying to get out of there, we won’t be able to
help Iraq with the restoration, and we’ll see even more international disdain.

City: There have been a lot of discouraging reports coming out of
Iraq.

Chun: Right. The
number-one thing for people to realize is that peace is not going to be
achieved overnight. Changing from a dictatorship to a democratic government is
going to be chaotic. People in Iraq don’t know how to handle themselves in a
democracy. So of course there’s going to be looting. There are going to be
power struggles by the insurgents. But I feel the Bush administration is doing
all it can right now to handle the situation, and it’s just going to take some
time.

City: What Bush messages really hit home for you?

Chun: My family
actually owns a small business. So the small-business favoritism of the
Republican Party plays an important role.

When
my grandpa immigrated here from China, he started a small restaurant in
Honolulu. After he passed away, my dad kind of took over as a hobby. He
basically uses his experience as an attorney to expand the business. And we’ve
opened several other stores. My dad is also VP and general counsel for
Alexander & Baldwin in Hawaii, and they get involved in a lot of shipping
and real estate.

City: Do you feel as estranged from liberals as they seem to feel
from Bush supporters?

Chun: Sort of. A lot
of Kerry supporters seem very anti-Bush and very pro-Kerry. I’m not a complete
advocate of Bush. I think he has a lot of faults. He’s not the best president
we’ve ever had. So I’m not completely separated from the Kerry supporters. I
agree with a lot of what they’re saying. But I feel like, here at the
University of Rochester, in a very liberal atmosphere, it’s difficult. As a
student here who’s seen as a Republican, I definitely have to watch my step.
[He laughs.] Often times I find myself arguing one against nine.

City: What do you think are the biggest differences between the
two sides?

Chun: I think the
focus on morals and the economy. The Republican Party is very focused on the
strength of the economy and this war. And a lot of people have problems with
the moral issues involved with that. This world is not a perfect place. The
Republican administration is basically the best way to balance the good and the
bad.

City: You mention the economy, but it’s been fairly clear the
economy has struggled under Bush’s watch.

Chun: I like the tax
relief Bush is proposing. Relief for corporations and small business is
eventually going to help their lowest-level employees.

City: So you’re talking about a trickle down.

Chun:Exactly.

City:Were there any
issues where you felt there was some common ground between the two sides?

Chun: That’s a
really good question. You battle so much on campus you don’t ever really come
to a peace agreement. To be completely honest, nothing comes to mind.

City: Did religion play any role for you personally in the
election?

Chun: No. Not at
all.

City: Were you concerned by the US’s failure to find weapons of
mass destruction in Iraq?

Chun: Basically,
that’s one of the reasons why I don’t like Bush. The fact that he lied about
the weapons of mass destruction is horrible. I feel he lied. I also recognize
that every president in our history has lied to the American people. In this
election, we’re basically just choosing who we want to lie to us next.

Bush
did lie. But it’s also a fact that Saddam’s regime was horrible. I personally
consider his regime to be a weapon of mass destruction in itself. I mean, the
genocide and cruelty they inflicted on innocent Iraqis: It had to go. If Bush
just said we were going in there to get rid of Saddam’s regime, I would have
supported it.

City: Do you think Saddam played any role in 9/11?

Chun: I wouldn’t
know. Though I think those are more conspiracy theories than fact.

City: Are you concerned at all that Osama bin Laden is still at
large?

Chun: I’m less
concerned than I was before. I feel America is safer because the Taliban regime
has been taken out, even though Osama has not. He is running, and he is hiding.
The fact that his regime has been basically disassembled makes me feel a bit
better about it.

City:So
it wasn’t a concern to hear Bush wasn’t spending much time thinking about bin
Laden?

Chun: It did kinda
make me question a little. But I think that also may be a matter of his, I
guess I would say, horrible rhetoric. The media definitely plays on George
Bush’s rhetorical mistakes. He’s not some horrible caricature the media has
made up. He’s not out there to basically screw America over.

City: Where do you generally get your news?

Chun: CNN. C-SPAN. I
read a lot of CNN.com. Basically, the TV in my room is always tuned to some
sort of news channel. I get a lot of information through the College
Republicans.

City: What’s your opinion of how CNN and other mainstream outlets
have covered the news in the months leading up to the election?

Chun: Everyone needs
to read these things with a grain of salt. You have to understand that everyone
issuing the reports has their own biases. You have to read these articles
objectively. Don’t ever be afraid to disagree with what you’re reading.

City: You’ve talked about the importance of solving the situation
in Iraq. If it came down to the US needing to run a draft to solve it, how
would you feel about that?

Chun: I haven’t
really thought about it, because I only really see that happening under the
Kerry administration. Bush is increasing pay for the military, and that’s going
to help retain soldiers. I feel as though, over time, the situation in Iraq is
going to improve. I don’t think the draft is ever going to be an issue.

This article appears in Nov 10-16, 2004.