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Lunching,
moderating, and discussing in Grand Central Station
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Looking
southwest from 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue. Photo: JH.
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One
of those hot hot humid days in New York with a threat of
showers offering only false hope for a break in the weather.
Over at the Michael Jordan Steakhouse on the mezzanine above
Grand Central Terminal, THE WEEK magazine was holding another
of their panel discussion luncheons for about two hundred guests. Harry
Evans was moderator and guests were Sidney
Blumenthal, the former Clinton/White House aide who
recently published a book of his years in that administration, Sen.
Gary Hart, Monica Crowley, Nixon biographer
and talk-radio conservative and Ed Rollins,
Republican political consultant, with phone-in panelist, political
consultant Dick Morris.
First of all, Harry Evans, more than anybody on the tube today, should
be moderating of one of those Sunday morning television political
roundtables. Because he’s better than any of them. Way way
better. With no apparent aren’t-I-wonderful ego, he is probing,
non-partisan, non-judgmental, (and if he really isn’t, you’d
never know), quickwitted, balanced in his monitoring of guests’ talk
time and able to play devil’s advocate for either side at the
drop of the hat. Plus he’s very well informed (historian, former
editor of the London Times, of Random House, consulting
editor of THE WEEK), diplomatic and amusing. The audience gets not
only information but the nuances as interpreted by Mr. Evans.
So the result is that no matter who is being queried, no time is
wasted on phony, smart-aleck, hostile asides revealing rank partisanship;
none of that supercilious shouting and haranguing that infects so
many TV political discussions. |
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Sidney
Blumenthal, Sen. Gary Hart, Harry Evans, Monica Crowley, and
Ed Rollins
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The
question of the day for the eager audience was: can George
W. Bush be beaten in 2004. Answer (with qualifying
circumstances of course): yes. However, the accompanying question:
Will he be beaten in 2004 was not so certain. Although everyone
agreed that the election was a Long Way Off in political campaign
terms, that a lot of anything can happen between now and then,
both Ms. Crowley and Mr. Rollins expressed the belief that
Mr. Bush will be very hard to defeat under the current circumstances.
This opinion was not credibly countered by either Mr. Blumenthal
or Senator Hart although they both presented enough reasons to explain
why he could be defeated.
It was also conceded that the Democrats at this time, however, do
not have a strong enough candidate to beat the President in the next
election. Arguments outlining Mr. Bush’s political weaknesses
were: 1. the continuing war in Iraq, 2. homeland
security and 3. the economy.
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Sidney
Blumenthal, Sen. Gary Hart, and Harry Evans
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Pete
Peterson, chairman of the Blackstone Group, who was seated
at a table before the panelists, commented that the deficits were
very dangerous (my word, not his) because they seriously threatened
the economic security of the next two generations. This argument
has little gravity in today’s world where the only conscious
association we have with the future seems to be our own lives:
health insurance and the 401K. Nevertheless, Mr. Peterson, who
was Treasury Secretary under Richard Nixon, pointed out that it
was a problem that could have catastrophic economic and social
repercussions.
At this point, no one seemed to be able to identity a viable Democratic
candidate to run against Mr. Bush. Senator Hart pointed out that
any man who runs for President really ought to know something about
the job before he even runs; that he ought to know what the responsibilities
of the job are and how to conduct himself in those responsibilities.
A man or woman running for President because he or she has a winning
image or personality is absurdly inadequate.
Tina Brown, who is also Mrs. Harry Evans, then asked
from the audience if the panelists thought there was a possibility
that Hillary Clinton could be a viable candidate
for President in 2004. Answer from the panel: definitely, although
with no assurance that she would win; and with Mr. Rollins adding
that she could be very polarizing.
Both Rollins and Crowley stated that the President’s public
image of a man who took up the sword and the shield (or rather, in
this case, the bullhorn) on the site of the destroyed WTC right after
the attack, was still very powerful with the American public and
reflected in all the polls.
Hart and Blumenthal countered that Mr. Bush’s response to homeland
security was very inadequate both before 9/11 when he’d been
presented with the Hart/Warren Rudman report on the state of national
security, and afterwards. They also pointed out that this administration
has more than dragged its feet on assisting the investigation of
the events around and leading up to the attack on the WTC.
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Monica
Crowley and Ed Rollins
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It
was a lively and informative discussion, with opinions fielded
effectively from all sides, all with enthusiasm, courtesy and fair-mindedness.
Very civilized, thanks to Mr. Evans’ leadership. It was a
very satisfying public forum about current affairs, both foreign
and national, today. It ran for more than an hour and the time
flew by for everyone.
There were more than 200 guests including: Eric Alterman,
Steve Brill, Tina Brown, Mario Buatta, Diane Caldwell, Susan Cheever,
Heather Cohane, Richard Cohen, Joe Conason, Joan Ganz Cooney, Alan
Patricof, Sam Peabody, Ponchita Pierce, Clare Gregorian, Jim Hoge,
George Plimpton, Anna Deveare Smith, Maureen White, Paula Zahn, Robert
Zimmerman, Mayor Dinkins, Beth Rudin DeWoody, Richard Feigen, Tom
Gates, Sharon Hoge, Philip Howard, Bianca Jagger, Marion Javits,
Myron and Thelma Kandel, James Kennedy, Ed Klein, Mayor Koch, John
Leo, Martha Kramer, Shirley Lord Rosenthal, Richard Meier, Freddie
Melhado, Sylvia Miles, Caroline Miller, Ward Morehouse, Enid Nemy,
Jackie Rogers, Matthew Taibbi, Alex Ziatchik, Rick Thompson, Liz
Trotta, Chris Wilson, Dirk Smillie, Gary Shapiro, Judy Gordon, Sciro
Scotti, Valerie Seckler, Julie Rothwax, Elizabeth Spiers, Jim Miller,
Elizabeth Hamilton, and Paul Lieberman.
Lunch was seated at 12:30 and we were all out by two. |
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