John Cusack didn't just "Say Anything" Friday in the SUB Ballroom - he spoke about the importance of supporting Sen. John Kerry's race to the White House.
"As a citizen of the United States, I feel obligated to speak up," he said.
Hundreds of students attended the event.
Cusack said the Bush administration doesn't take responsibility for the problems in America.
"There are 150,000 less jobs than projected," he said. "I guess they'll blame that on the weather."
Speculating on the second presidential debate that was to be held that night, Cusack said he expected President Bush to continue his negative campaign against Kerry.
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"They want to make the whole debate about John Kerry and fear," he said. "It's just fear and smear."
Cusack told the crowd Vice President Dick Cheney's remarks that a vote for Kerry would be a vote for terrorism remind him of another period in time.
"That's McCarthyism at the highest order," he said.
The College Democrats and the New Mexico Democratic Party sponsored the event.
Cusack said he decided to come to New Mexico universities because a friend suggested he visit swing states. He visited NMSU earlier in the day to speak to students at the Corbett Center Student Union.
Cusack said he is a politically active person who could easily get on a talk show to promote his ideas, but he wanted to talk to people
in New Mexico directly.
"Whether we win New Jersey, lose New Jersey, win Florida, lose Florida - there's all these different pieces that could fit," he said. "But in every one where Kerry wins the White House, New Mexico is a piece that he has to win."
The Bush administration is trying to spread fear among voters, Cusack said. He said the negative ad campaign against Kerry is designed to make voters feel unsafe and believe Kerry is untrustworthy.
"This is hypocrisy," he said. "These are the guys who attacked the wrong country and have been the cause of anti-Americanism across Europe and the Middle East."
Cusack said he is saddened by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth attacks on Kerry's Vietnam record and added the criticism is direct propaganda from the Bush administration.
"It's brilliant politically, because they don't just tell a lie - they tell a big lie," he said.
He said Kerry is a war hero who doesn't deserve to be attacked by the group, especially because a couple of the criticizers have a less-than-credible record.
"One guy got deferments," he said. "The other guy went to Alabama and skipped out. They have the audacity to attack a guy who's got shrapnel in his leg and got all these Purple Hearts."
He said the Bush administration has made him the angriest and most active he has been during an election season.
Cusack said this is the most important election in his lifetime.
"I thought four years ago was," he said. "But even in my wildest dreams, I couldn't imagine that administration would throw away so many years of foreign policy."
Cusack said for now he is focused strictly on New Mexico, but he is considering speaking at universities in Michigan and Wisconsin - two other swing states.
