LEWISTON – Defeat of capitalism is still the cornerstone of communism, but the chairman of the Communist Party in the United States says defeat of the Bush administration and its policies is the organization’s more immediate objective.

Sam Webb, who grew up in Hallowell, has been the national communist chairman for about five years. He was at Lewiston-Auburn College on Thursday afternoon for a talk for students, faculty and members of the public.

Although Webb’s primary target was the Bush administration, he added, “I don’t have any illusions about (Democratic Sen. John) Kerry.”

Before the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1989, the USSR served as “a counterweight” in world affairs. Now, the United States has “unprecedented military superiority over any other rival in the world today” and “the Bush administration intends to keep it like that,” Webb said. “He doesn’t want any competitors.”

Webb called for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and establishment of a United Nations peacekeeping force there. He also said he fears increased violence in the Middle East as a result of U.S. policies regarding Israel and Palestine.

Webb told the audience of about 30 that he believes control of oil is a principal reason behind the Iraq war and stated that “the Bush administration’s plan is global domination.” He called it “a quest for empire.”

Webb’s comments drew echoes of agreement from some in the audience. A member of the L-A College faculty told Webb the school’s students are very active and vocal from “a diverse range of ideologies tending toward more conservative. We have a lot of students who are either directly in the military or have family in the military and … you couldn’t find a group that’s more in agreement with you about the ridiculousness of our present leader.” She asked Webb why more news media and Congressional leaders are not challenging the administration more directly.

He replied, “I think the shorter answer is that we don’t have a democratically controlled media; we have a corporate-controlled media. We have to fight, too. We have to put pressure on the media.”

Webb said, “We have had a difficult time getting good press, and we still don’t get either good press or much press.”

He said the Bush administration “isn’t concerned” about the apparent increase of worldwide enemies of the United States.

A question about the future of capitalism brought Webb’s response that “at this stage, it’s causing havoc all over the world.” He said, “Humanity cannot continue to allow capitalism to go much further into the 21st century.”

Barry Rodrigue, instructor of a Western civilization class and host for Webb’s talk, asked what had changed in Communist policy and doctrine since 1989. Webb said the Communist Party – USA is “in the process of regrouping.” He said, “We have a long-term vision and hope for socialism.”

“We feel that socialism offers a better solution to all the problems that humanity around the globe is facing,” Webb said.

Although he said he believes third-party politics “occupies a huge place in our political life,” he added, “If Ralph Nader should throw his hat in the ring, we would not support him” because it would weaken efforts to defeat Bush.

Rodrigue said about a quarter of the people in the audience were his students, a quarter were college faculty or staff members, and half represented the general public.