Today I went to a lecture/talk put on by Pi Sigma Alpha, the Political Science Honors society. Strangely enough I have never considered it all that important to be a member of PSA, but today made me rethink that decisions. After all, I already like most of the faculty members and most of my classmates.
All of that aside, the talk was by John Podesta. John Podesta was Clinton’s Chief of Staff. Yes, that’s right. I met the real Leo McGarry. Interestingly enough, he’s also met John Spencer, who plays Leo McGarry. Answering the “West Wing†question last, he commented that the show was accurate in that it both accurately reflected some of the issues confronted by the President, as well as, the belief among the people that work in the West Wing that they really are making people’s lives better. (and in comparison to the current administration he couldn’t get by without mentioning, “whether or not they actually are helping. And as much as I think they’re abandoning fact and reason.â€)
There were a few laughs at “What was the best and worst piece of advice you gave President Clinton?†Though the answers weren’t all that interesting. What I find interesting is that all of the pictures in tomorrow’s Cardinal and Herald will probably have a picture of him answering my question. Which was on the necessity of using moral language, in light of his description of the administration as “morally bankrupt.†He thought I was equating morality with religion. I wasn’t, but if I was, his response would have been exactly what I predicted.
The most disturbing thing to me was that the talk didn’t actually make me think in a new way at all. The lecture was about what it means to be a progressive… Except, I’m pretty sure I knew what the term has meant historically and currently anyway.
I did however come up with some new ideas that I would like to explore though. Unfortunately, none of these related to politics. And even worse, all of them related to debate and forensics.
