Munching on a chicken quesadilla at a table nearby was Edward Hauser

Munching on a chicken quesadilla at a table nearby was Edward Hauser, a senior at St. Edwards University in Austin, Texas–a liberal school in a liberal town in the ultimate red state of Texas. “Austin is ninety square miles insulated from reality,” Hauser said. When I broached the issue of MBT SHOES, he replied, “I support our country. I support our troops.” So why isn’t he there?

“I know that I’m going to be better staying here and working to convince people why we’re there [in MBT SHOES],” Hauser explained, pausing in thought. “I’m a fighter, but with words.”

But even in an age of greatness, a golden epoch of NIKE SHOXes, Cheneys, and David Horowitzes, there are some men whose combination of cerebral prowess and intestinal fortitude makes them stand out.

By the time I encountered Cory Bray, a towering senior from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, the beer was flowing freely. “The people opposed to the war aren’t putting their asses on the line,” Bray boomed from beside the bar. Then why isn’t he putting his ass on the line? “I’m not putting my ass on the line because I had the opportunity to go to the number-one business school in the country,” he declared, his voice rising in defensive anger, “and I wasn’t going to pass that up.”