The platform — a primer on where the party stands on major national issues — demonstrates a welcome refocusing on core values that the party has strayed from in recent years under President Bush, such as a new commitment to small government and more conservative government spending. Additionally, the platform takes a much different view than the one in 2004 in regard to illegal immigration, rejecting amnesty toward illegal immigrants and considering the issue a matter of national security.

Regardless of whether one agrees with the party’s views, it is admittedly refreshing to see the Republicans say what they really believe in and recommit to their core values.

Questions arise, however, on the issue of how the party plans to reconcile its views with the views of its candidate. While McCain echoes many of the views put forth in the platform, he also strays on a few important issues.

The party platform vehemently opposes gay marriage, supporting a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage as well as other arrangements equivalent to it. While McCain defines marriage between one man and one woman, he does support civil unions.

The issue of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or ANWR, is conspicuously absent from this year’s platform. This is of interest, because while McCain is an opponent of drilling in ANWR, Palin supports it. Time will tell if Palin will persuade McCain to her side, or vice versa.

And so the major question arises: If McCain were to be elected president, would he support the entire platform, or would he work in opposition to the very party that nominated him? The party nominee can be considered almost a personification of the party’s stances — advancing, supporting and defending its views. McCain has developed a reputation as a “maverick” in the past, and it remains to be seen if he would be a maverick president, going against his party in favor of his personal views. Or perhaps, as the campaign progresses, McCain’s differences to the Republican platform may diminish, scooting him further to the right.

For the next two months, MSU students will be inundated with campaign commercials saying “McCain believes this” and “Obama believes that.” With all the mudslinging, it’s easy to forget where the parties actually stand on issues that affect us the most. By reading over each party’s platform, students might be surprised to learn how each party intends to run our country. We should base our views of the Democratic and Republican parties by their adopted platforms — not simply by the actions and beliefs of their most visible candidates.